06 - The Next Day

[ZaCloud]

Tracking

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Zack panted as he ran, still shaken from the long fall and close calls. At least he had managed to drown out the fact that the world had crumbled around everyone, focusing on getting to where he had last heard the distant screams. He had been unable to determine who it was, but something felt familiar about it, and the level of anguish he had heard was enough to pull him along by the heart.

As he figured he was nearby, he thought he could feel a mass of distant presences moving away from Midgar. A group maybe? Survivors? Or maybe just wishful thinking… He had to know. He slowed down, still at Midgar’s border, scanning the dusty earth for signs of whoever had been in the area. A bit ahead, he saw a strange line that seemed to have been dug or ground into the dirt, eerily straight like a border between the outlands and the doomed city. He then spotted some marks from skidding feet, indentations from a fallen form, and then a mass of various tracks heading there, then away.

He knelt to more closely examine the area, wincing as his body protested the lowering. He squinted around, the low light not helping his already poor vision. He could not see any blood at least, that was a relief. But he did see something glinting in the angled morning sunlight, which leaked in away from the cloud over Midgar. He reached for it, missing a few times before he finally held it up…

A long strand of silver hair…

Sephiroth X…

He looked into the distance where the tracks were going. Some group came by, from the Desert, and took him… Why would they? What might they do? Is he hurt? Is he…

He jerked to his feet, ignoring the protesting of his body, and took off at a fast jog, following what he could of the tracks, hoping the wind would not erase them before he could find where they went.

Hoping a lot of things.

Fearing.

[Sephiroth X]

*X’s eyes opened and a high bright sun blinded him for a few moments as his eyes adjusted. Colors of white and sky blue blurred together as his head slowly looked around, everything was blurry and his body felt weak from the events that had transpired. Seph felt like he was still lying down but could sense he was moving, and as he slowly looked around he could see four blurred figures holding him up on a stretcher that had the Masamune strapped to it. A few feet ahead Seph could see a couple more figures leading the way and from what he could see everyone was in rugged travel clothing.

Sephiroth X – Drifters…

*Seph laid his head back again and rested, as weak as he felt even these bums would be a fight for him plus given the recent events stirring trouble with someone who’s still human wouldn’t be a great idea. His body ached with every simple bump they traveled over and he almost felt like passing out again, he closed his eyes and then listened as a couple of drifters started talking to each other.

Drifter 1 – So this is him huh?

Drifter 2 – They said this guy fits the bill.

Drifter 1 – You sure…? I mean… this guy’s wrecked up pretty good… You’d think he’d bounce back faster then this if he was who we think he is…

Drifter 3 – Hey you saw the state some of those people were in when we went past the Midgar border… They said they literally saw hell…

Drifter 2 – Yeah… and… how few of them made it out…

Drifter 3 – No kidding… I knew the Midgar population was on a decline but we were trimming the border for easily a few miles and we only saw a dozen people at most… Do you really think almost nobody made it out?

Drifter 1 – I don’t even wanna think about that, we all saw what the skies looked like even from a few miles away… Let’s just get this guy back there and go from there…

Drifter 2 – What do you think is happening to anyone still in the city…?

*The other drifters became quiet and just cautiously glared at each other. Seph didn’t want to hear the end of that conversation anyways, every life that was lost or suffering in Midgar he felt was his own fault. To top off his guilt, Catrina was one of those left behind. Some hero he turned out to be… Perhaps Dark Crono was right, maybe X really did carry the title of the Warrior of Prosperity but nothing beyond that… Legends don’t let whole cities get slaughtered... They don’t let their only loves vanish into the darkness like that.

Drifter 3 – So what’s the name of this guy we’re lugging around anyway?

*Suddenly X heard a feminine voice that ringed with familiarity to him… it sounded almost like Catrina’s voice.

Catrina’s Voice – Its Sephiroth X... Commonly called ‘Seph’ or ‘X’ for short.

*Seph’s weak eyes opened up for a moment, his vision was still blurring but he swore he saw the silhouette of Catrina looking down from alongside him. Instinctively he tried to reach up to her and let her know he was fine, and find out how she escaped.

Sephiroth X – Ca…trina….

*As his arm reached out for her his vision sharpened and the silhouette of Catrina changed into an entirely different person. It was a female drifter with a notepad apparently reading a file they had on him. Her eyes lit up with surprise to see X conscious and she signaled out to the other drifters.

Female Drifter – He’s awake!

Drifter 2 – Shit he woke up too soon!

Drifter 1 – Knock him out! Knock him out!

*As X shifted his eyes over to the other drifters he quickly saw the stock of an assault rifle drive down towards his face.

[Sephiroth X]

Just don’t make promises that you can’t keep… I’ll be ok Seph… as long as you are…

*Seph’s eyes slowly opened, despite vision that was still blurring he could tell that the same group of drifters were carrying him. This time there were a few more drifters, and judging by the angle of the sun it was probably a few hours since they knocked him back out. As X’s vision sharpened he could see that the drifters were keeping an eye on him this time, and as his eyes opened the female drifter from earlier greeted him.

Female Drifter – Sorry about before… you came about a little bit sooner than we expected and well, we couldn’t trust you with where we were going at the time. Cuz well, even if you are who we think you are we still got our rules.

Sephiroth X – Midgar…?

*The female drifter looked at him quietly for a moment before shaking her head.

Female Drifter – We encountered some strange resistance when we tried to get close to the city, that’s how we stumbled upon you. But even if we could get into Midgar it would be suicide, witnesses described the creatures in there to us. And from what we could see it looks like there’s a blinding fog through the entire city, and those black skies haven’t lifted yet so its still like nighttime there.

Sephiroth X – I need… to go back…

*She shook her head again.

Female Drifter – No can do pal, no offense but you aren’t going anywhere in the condition you’re in yet.

Sephiroth X – Someone important to me is in there… who I promised… I’d get out…

Female Drifter – Well… just pray she’s as resilient as you are.

Sephiroth X – How’d you know it was a ‘she’…?

Female Drifter – You have that look… The kind of look a child has when he can’t find his puppy… the look of a heartbroken man who lost someone dear to him. I know that look too well.

*The first drifter smirked.

Drifter 1 – Cuz half the time you’re the cause of it.

Female Drifter – Stuff it!

Sephiroth X – So… where are you taking me? And what do I call you?

Female Drifter – My name’s Cynthia. But everyone calls me ‘Cid’ for short. And we are taking you to ‘Libertas’.

Sephiroth X – ‘Libertas’?

*Upon finishing his words Seph heard a roar of several motorcycles and larger transport vehicles as they zipped past them, kicking up sand in their wake. X lifted his head off the stretcher to look ahead of him and was momentarily awed by what he saw. Ahead of him were seemingly endless amounts of drifters on their bikes as well as various transports and just behind them were the shapes of large living structures… an entire city of drifters. Seph’s group of drifters then stopped as Cid looked down at him.

Cid – Can you walk?

Sephiroth X – Yeah, should be able to.

*Cid nodded to the others, and they raised Seph’s stretcher horizontal and Seph stepped forward and gained his footing. X then reached back and removed the Masamune from the stretcher as well.

Cid – This way.

*Cid walked in front of Seph, and the group walked towards the drifter city. A few minutes later they started walking past the small tents and makeshift housing at the edge of the small city.

Sephiroth X – I’m guessing this is Libertas?

Cid - *Chuckling* Fast learner I see. Yes, this is Libertas.

*Seph looked around, every building looked like it was just recently assembled. He could see drifters of all ages roaming around doing minor chores for each other. They all were very rugged in their attire, everything from a standard leather coat to a torn up and dirty sweater, every one of them resembling what you’d imagine in a drifter. Even without the large escort around him it was very easy to see that Seph didn’t blend in here.

Sephiroth X – How did you do this…?

Cid – Mmmm?

Sephiroth X – How has this city gone undetected for so long?

*From ahead of them both, the voice of a man cut in on their conversation.

Voice - Please, we’re more resourceful than you all give us credit for.

*Both Cid and Seph looked forward towards the origin of the voice. Ahead of them stood a drifter wearing a longer leather coat with red trimming on it. The man had a dark pair of sunglasses on and sported a unique goatee on his face complimented by short yet out of control hair.

Cid – Ah, Locke. I figured it wouldn’t take long for you to greet us.

Locke – Well given who you brought with, I couldn’t pass up such a unique opportunity.

Sephiroth X – And you are?

Locke – My name is Locke, and welcome to Libertas… The City Without Land. And you I already know are Sephiroth X, the Warrior of Prosperity.

*Upon saying his name and title, the drifters around them all stopped for a moment and began looking towards Sephiroth X.

Sephiroth X – It would be nice if you wouldn’t draw so much attention to me like that. And how do you know that I even am that person.

Locke – Well it’s something you should really get accustomed to given what you carry, but if that’s your wish then it shall be granted as long as you’re in this city. And the story of your historic battle in the Super City has reached our ears, we saw The Senators broadcast and heard the rumors of the battle.

*Locke looked towards Seph’s escort of drifters.

Locke – You all can leave and find your groups, Cid you come with us though please. Seph, please walk with us.

*The three of them began walking down the dirt ‘roads’ of Libertas.

Sephiroth X – So, I’m guessing you’re the mayor in town here.

Locke – You could say so, I’m the person everyone turns to when needed.

Sephiroth X – Fair enough. So, how does something like this city not get found by the Senate?

Locke – Like I said, this is the city with no land. Surely judging by the living spaces and buildings here, you don’t think this is a permanent setup is it?

Sephiroth X – So… you only gather when it’s necessary and then scatter back all over the desert. Literally rebuilding the city each time… Amazing.

Locke – Yup, primary groups take with them key fundamentals to the city. One large group may take something more elaborate such as parts of our command units or science equipment while another group may take parts to build a different facility. That way if a group is captured by The Senate, then the parts they carry will just appear like scraps and have no value. Also, thank you, but may I ask what is so ‘amazing’ about it?

Sephiroth X – I never figured the drifters to be an organized entity like this.

Locke – Thus the other reason we’ve avoided such detection.

Sephiroth X – So how many drifters come here?

Locke – Libertas was formed just about a decade ago… The Senate was starting to pick off groups of drifters who would keep traveling in similar routes. Our numbers were thinning a little bit, and it was due to each gang of drifters not having the information of their predecessors. So what happened was a group of drifters including myself broke off and searched for as many large groups of drifters as we could. We all accepted that alone we would fall to the Senate, but if we kept in communication with each other even a little… we could avoid the spotlight of The Senate and vanish. Essentially like how cockroaches scatter when you turn on a light in your kitchen. Today Libertas brings in a large number of drifter gangs and families. There are still many solo and small groups of drifters that we still do not communicate nor govern, so we are never truly as organized as we would like.

*Seph nodded as he soaked up all the information.

Sephiroth X – Im amazed yet it makes perfect sense for some reason. It explains how you all never seem to get caught, even after raiding large Senate convoy. Here I just thought their security was pathetic.

Locke – Oh don’t suddenly think so highly of the Senate, their security is still rather comical. But yes, this definitely helps keep drifters out of Senate custody.

Sephiroth X – So… How many people know about this place?

Locke – All the people that know Libertas exists? That would be everyone currently in the city right now, and you.

Sephiroth X - …You seem to put a great deal of trust in me then, don’t you?

*Locke nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement.

Locke – That I do. There are very few who would spread the word of how organized we are here once they figure out our cause. And that cause is quite simple, like everyone else, we just hate the Senate.

Sephiroth X – And preserve your own freedom in the process.

Locke – Of course.

Sephiroth X – Then why do drifters occasionally raid and threaten Midgarians who even flirt with the border between Midgar and the Desert?

Locke – Well those drifters traditionally aren’t affiliated with Libertas, they tend to pick on Midgar more or less because Midgar wont bite back as hard as Zion. But occasionally we do have groups brush Midgar from time to time, traditionally for essentials such as food or clothing while also keeping the vicious nature of the drifters in tact.

Sephiroth X – Because if you never raided any Midgarians… then Zion would start to wonder why they were always the only focus.

Locke – Exactly.

*Seph took a moment to look around Libertas one more time, yes he was impressed with what he saw but at the same time he could still tell this was a rugged group of individuals. Organization of these people can not be easy and could possibly crumble if put under enough pressure.

Sephiroth X – So, why did you bring me here?

*Locke paused for a moment.

Locke – Come with me.

*Locke turned away from Seph and began walking down a separate path between tents and buildings. Seph promptly followed.

Locke – The last 24 hours in Midgar have obviously caught our attention and obviously raise much concern. We were hoping you could explain to us what happened down there.

Sephiroth X – If you want to know what happened it would be best saved for closed doors, its something that women and children shouldn’t necessarily be aware of. It could cause panic, especially if… *He hesitated and spoke a little quieter*… if people found out I wasn’t strong enough to defeat what brought about the fall of Midgar.

*Locke looked over his shoulder to Seph, his eyes reflecting curiosity and slight fear through what X had just said.

Locke – Yes… you’re right. We’re close to the central headquarters anyway. That would be a good place to discuss this.

*Seph and Locke walked a little more before reaching another series of tents that had a small barb wire fence surrounding them. Locke approached the entrance to the fence which was guarded by two drifters and as Locke nodded at the two and they opened the gate and let he and X in. Seph was led into a larger central tent by Locke, and as he stepped into it there was a large table in place where a half dozen other drifters were already sitting.

Locke – These people are the main council of Libertas. Even though I am responsible for keeping everything organized amongst us, these fine people supply me with the information I need as well as keeping subdivisions of drifters in the fold. These people along with myself are what keep Libertas together.

*Locke focused his intention directly on the council for a moment.

Locke – Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Warrior of Prosperity.

*The rest of the council stood up in respect for Seph.

Sephiroth X – Please… It’s not necessary.

Locke – As I was explaining to you earlier the events of Midgar have gotten our attention, so much that we actually called for an assembly of Libertas to discuss this. We are worried about what caused this catastrophe and the forces behind it, we simply ask for you to have a seat and share with us what happened there…

*Seph stood there for a moment, part of his own mind really didn’t want to re-imagine those events both in his mind and through his words. But Seph was also still carrying the guilt of his failure with him, if he wouldn’t tell others about what happened… he could potentially doom them as well. Slowly Seph took a seat at the table and the rest followed suit.

Locke – What happened there….?

Sephiroth X - …Valtiel… is what happened.

Locke – Valtiel?

Sephiroth X – A name you all are probably not familiar with… Valtiel is a monster who could be best described as a liason for hell itself. He tormented Midgarians for a few months until something came and transformed him into what he is now… something dark… evil…. powerful.

*Locke and the others looked at each other nervously.

Locke – Are you speaking of the murderer who was killing random citizens?

Sephiroth X – They’re likely the same…

Locke – Midgar police frequencies described the murder weapons used as some large cleaver… that is if they could identify the body enough to find evidence of a single murder weapon.

Sephiroth X – Sounds like his handiwork… Valtiel carries a distinctive large machete as his weapon. But its not his weapons physically that are a threat anymore… its something more supernatural then that.

As best he could, X described the fall of Midgar. He described Valtiel as a monsterous spawn from hell with origins tracing back to the Magi and Senate, but explained that his actions were independent from either group at this point due to his maniacal nature. Seph explained that Valtiel was driven by powerful supernatural powers but did not reveal to the council that Valtiel was powered by a fallen god from Bax’s homeworld, such information could potentially throw even this council into panic. Locke observed the emotions Seph leaked as he told his story, and Locke could tell that Seph was troubled deeply by what transpired. X slowly explained that he did attempt to confront Valtiel while the fall of Midgar occurred, but hesitantly revealed that he failed to even hurt the monster.

Sephiroth X – That… is what happened… Midgar is lost to him at this point. All I can assume is that while I was on my quest towards the Element of Prosperity, Valtiel had to have been planting the seeds leading up to this cataclysm… He knew he wouldn’t be the focus if something of such historical value was occurring. Then by the time I found out what was happening around me… it… was too late… And even with my power, I wasn’t strong enough to defeat him…

*The council looked on at him, concern on all of their faces. They also seemed worried due to the revelation that even a Warrior of Prosperity couldn’t withstand what happened in Midgar.

Sephiroth X – I put the blame squarely on my own shoulders… I should have stopped what happened before it ever came to be… I’m not strong enough… I need to be stronger in order to stop Valtiel...

*Seph fell quiet as he dwelled on his own words and thoughts. Locke looked on at him with concern and was about to speak, however before he could speak one of the guards from outside promptly stepped in and drew Locke’s attention.

Libertas Guard – Locke, someone’s coming.

*Locke immediately stood up and walked towards the guard. The guard reached into his coat and pulled out a couple of surveillance pictures and extended them to Locke.

Locke – When were these taken?

Libertas Guard – About ten minutes or so ago.

*Locke looked over his shoulder towards Seph for a moment before looking back at the pictures. Seph shook his focus off his own thoughts, stood up, walked over to Locke and looked over his shoulder at the photos.

Locke – Looks like somebody followed you here.

*Sephiroth X’s eyes widened for a moment as he looked at the pictures. The stills showed a spiky haired blond person carrying a large sword following motorcycle tracks that led in the direction of Libertas. It was Zack.

[ZaCloud]

*Zack Strife had slowed to a quick walk, but it was still brisk and swift. The landscape was not flat in this area; hills concealed much of his surroundings. But over the crest of one, he saw what looked like another city ahead. His steps slowed as he took it in with wide eyes. Still distant, but distinct. From the looks of it, larger by far than the few drifter colonies he had seen. It was beyond what he had expected, and he began to feel intimidated. Something else was setting off his internal alert system as well... the sense of being surrounded. Sure enough, he soon heard a commanding voice ring out.

Guard Drifter 3 - "Stop! Stay right where you are!"

*Zack complied, and looked around as a multitude of drifters emerged from the rises and falls, armed with various guns. They were in every direction he could see from his position. But he had not expected to engage them. He instead did what came perfectly natural when facing other drifters. He knelt on the ground, his hands resting flat on the dry stony earth. This was what was expected of a Strife in the vicinity of normal humans. His heart pounded and he lowered his head as they drew nearer.

Zack - "I... I'm just looking for someone..." he explained, "Nothing more."

*The other drifters looked at each other.

Guard Drifter 1 - "What should we do?"

Guard Drifter 2 - "He's within the safety proximity he's too close!"

Guard Drifter 1 - "Yeah but he surrendered willingly, we dont usually have this happen."

Guard Drifter 3 - "The rules are rules we either gotta take him into custody or we gotta pop him right here right now."

*Zack could hear the sound of a bullets enter their chambers and see a few drifters take a couple steps towards him with their rifles shouldered. However before anyone could even think about opening fire, a comanding voice cut in from behind the drifters.
Locke - Stand down!

*As one of the drifters began to turn towards the source of the sound, a shadow from above swooped down towards him. Light reflected off of a blade for a moment as a 'shink' sound silenced everyone. The drifter saw his own rifle split in two within his hands as he saw the black clad Sephiroth X in front of him. The green eyes of Sephiroth X sharply darted from drifter to drifter.

Sephiroth X - He's with me.

*Zack lifted his head, his eyes wide. Then he broke into a relieved grin.

Zack - "Sephiroth!? You're alright!? Aw man, thank goodness!"

*Zack scrambled to his feet and ran toward him.

Zack - "I thought... I thought... Lotsa stuff!"

*He barely stopped himself from latching onto his mentor, skidding to a stop and instead wringing his fists up and down, still brimming with joy although now guarded.

Zack - "It's just good to know that out of all that bad stuff goin' on that you're still alright... What's goin' on now? How'd you end up out here?"

*Seph couldn’t help but crack a small smirk at the near childish joy that Zack carried with him.

Sephiroth X – Heh, I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on myself…

*X’s face lost its smirk after a moment.

Sephiroth X – I ended up here… kind of as a result of how I got out of Midgar.

*The remaining drifters lowered their weapons and Locke approached the two of them.

Locke – So he’s a friend?

*Seph nodded to Locke.

Sephiroth X – Yeah, his name’s Zack Strife.

* Zack looked at Locke, cocking his head a bit. He seemed a man of authority. Which made it a relief that he and X seemed to be getting along well. He was stuck for a moment wondering whether this gave him the free pass to act as an equal, or whether presuming so would cause Sephiroth any trouble. So he erred on the side of caution and dropped into a kneel again, head down.

Zack - Good to meet you, sir, I promise I won't cause any trouble. Thanks for taking care of my friend.

*Locke chuckled for a second.

Locke – No need for those kinda formalities, my names Locke.

*Zack sprung back up to his feet as Locke introduced himself.

Locke – But lets save some of the other introductions for later, lets get back into the city.

*Zack nodded and brushed off his pants before falling into step beside Sephiroth X.

Zack- Good idea. What's with that city, anyway? It looks huge! Don't tell me it can still be broken down for moving?

*Locke hesitated for a second*

Locke - Actually... yeah... it can.

Zack - Wow... Oh! I bet you split it! That's awesome! With enough folks that really can be done. So you must have a lotta people in there to divide it up. You must all be pretty unified. That's really cool! Lotsa the goodies of bein' out here without some o' the disadvantages. That rocks! We're gonna go see this?! Sephy have you seen it? It's awesome isn't it?

*As they walked, Locke looked over to Seph for a second.

Locke – Is he always that talkative?

*Seph simply shook his head with a small grin.

Sephiroth X – Yes Zack, I’ve seen it.

*After a walk that lasted about ten minutes or so, the three of them began passing through the outskirts of the drifter city. Locke walked just ahead of them, Seph and Zack trailed a few steps back.

Sephiroth X – They call this place Libertas, basically they only assemble the city when times of crisis or meetings are necessary. Basically this is what happens when the drifters plan out what they do.

*Zack gazed around in wonder, allowing the sights of the place to fill his eyes as well as they allowed. He had made the assumption of this place's mobility due to his drifter instinct: Nothing in the Desert was permanent. Had he not grown up out here, he never would have guessed that such a vast entity was transient. The concept of drifters being this organized and united still boggled his mind a bit; it was not what he was used to. But it certainly did make sense, and he allowed it to sink in a chunk at a time.

Zack - So... They're figuring out what to do concerning... him?

*Seph simply nodded.

Sephiroth X – Yeah… it obviously caught their attention. They had a few patrols sweep the border of the city trying to get an idea of what happened and pick up survivors. I was found lying unconscious just beyond the border.

Locke – And looking like he got the hell beat out of him too.

*X sighed slightly, acknowledging his own defeat. Zack’s teen eyes widened a bit, then narrowed as his head lowered and turned slightly away. He had known Valtiel was frighteningly powerful... But for him to defeat Sephiroth X, no, the Warrior of Prosperity... His voice was now quiet and strained.

Zack - ...What are we supposed to do...?

*Sephiroth X looked to Zack for a moment.

Sephiroth X – It gets worse…

*The boy's head darted back toward Sephiroth, startled that anything could be worse.

Zack - ...How?

Sephiroth X - …He’s back.

*Zack instantly knew what he meant.

Zack - But... How? That can't be... You destroyed him, we all saw it... You have the Element...

*Sephiroth X looked down and simply shook his head. Meanwhile Locke looked over his shoulder, listening more intently on what was new news to him as well.

Sephiroth X – I… I don’t know… Before the shit hit the fan in Midgar he appeared and I tried to attack him and strike him down… But he stood his own against me, fought me like… like an equal. It was like the Element didn’t even make a difference with him.

*The three of them all stood in place now listening to Seph’s words.

Sephiroth X – And… to top it all off… she’s still in there.

*Zack, still suspended in shock, forced it aside as the final phrase emerged. He cocked his head slightly.

Zack - She? She who?

Sephiroth X – Catrina… Somehow the Element resurrected her... It brought her back to me. I was so happy to have her back that I lost track of everything I should have been doing as the Warrior of Prosperity… I… I could have stopped Valtiel from doing all of this before it happened… but I didn’t… and when I confronted Valtiel it was too late… He swatted me away like a fly… and then I tried to get both Catrina and I out of Midgar… we got separated… and Valtiel… he… he somehow put some kind of barrier around Midgar. Neither she nor I could get through… She told me to escape and find help… Then she went back into Migdar… into the fog… the darkness….

*Seph spoke weakly*

Sephiroth X – The price I paid for my lack of responsibility… was that I lost Catrina just when I got her back. With that… realized that even with my strength I am still nothing… that I still need more power.

*Zack could not move or speak as Sephiroth spoke. The sheer thought of someone being brought back to life after so long... It was unbelievable. And yet, plain as day, it had obviously happened. The Element's power was that extraordinary... And yet, still nothing compared to the foes that Sephiroth faced in both Valtiel and Crono. And all this was compounded by the guilt he carried for not acting sooner, and now the worry that he had lost her yet again... The young man reached up and settled his hand on X's upper arm firmly. He looked at his friend with sincere sympathy yet determination.

Zack - Seph... You're not powerless. You just weren't prepared. You met Valtiel on his terms, and all the while being crushed by guilt and worry... Nobody can fight at full capacity like that. I don't know of any other powers that may exist, but if there are we'll definitely seek them. But in the meantime, you have my sword, Jack's strength, Bax's fire. You don't have to carry this burden alone, Seph...

*X tried to use Zack’s words to encourage himself, but he just couldn’t bring himself to cheer up.

Sephiroth X – Then what about Crono, I should have been able to take him down with minimal effort now compared to how strong I was not even a month ago. I’m supposed to be some sort of legend and all I have done is bring pain and failure!

*Locke stepped up and rejoined the conversation, feeling that now he has something important he needs to say.

Locke – I think both of you need to follow me.

*Both Zack and Seph followed Locke for a little ways deeper into the city. After a short walk, Locke led them into a large tent that was subdivided into a couple of different rooms.

Locke – Please, into this room.

*Locke parted one of the tent barriers and the three of them walked into a different room. In the center of the room there was a bed set up, sitting cross legged on it was a woman who appeared to be in her late middle-ages with both dark brown and gray hair. Along the edges of the room there were microphones and cameras in place, and both Seph and Zack then noticed that the elderly woman was chained to the bed by her ankle.

Locke – We found this woman just about a month ago. She claimed to be a soothsayer, a fortune teller, and she was telling us that we as a planet were on some kind of brink of history.

*Zack and X listened intently.

Locke – A few weeks ago… she went comatose on us. In fact we had to strap medical equipment to her just to confirm she wasn’t brain dead. The day she slipped into this coma ironically was the same day as a very recent major event…

Sephiroth X – My battle with Crono…

*Locke nodded.

Locke – Two days after your victory in the Super City, she awoke and seemed perfectly fine… except she wasn’t talking what so ever, she was a mute. The very next day she spoke just one word and said it randomly a couple of times that day. She became mute again for a few days, and then she began to speak one word again… this time it was a different word. This process repeated randomly I believe eight times, the last time coming on the eve of what happened in Midgar.

Sephiroth X – You’re thinking this is linked to Valtiel?

*Locke shook his head negatively.

Locke – Each word she spoke alone makes no sense… But when you replay each word once and string them together in the order she spoke them… a message comes through.

*Locke walked over to a small console in the corner of the room. He extended one hand down to the keyboard and pressed a single key that activated a playback. The voice apparently was the voice of the woman and it had each of her words spliced together.

Estuans… interius… ira… vehementi…

*The four words looped over multiple times before Locke stopped the playback and looked back over to Seph and Zack.

*Zack scratched his head, confused.

Zack - Sounds like gibberish to me... Do you know what it is, Seph?

Sephiroth X – Gibberish… but it seems to have context to it.

Locke – Our researchers have been looking into what she was saying… It’s some variation of an ancient language. The rough translation refers to an internal anger that was both violent and burning. I think this is linked to you, Seph.

*Seph’s face grew concerned a little.

Sephiroth X – What makes you think so?

Locke – These words are also linked to scriptures that reference an even elder fable. It’s a legend that refers to one of the earliest Warriors of Prosperity.

*Zack cocked his head, then shrugged.

Zack - Well yeah, maybe he's pissed off sometimes, but isn't everybody?

Locke – This legend is discarded by a lot of historians, mainly because it relies on another myth in order to be true. Some of the oldest scriptures ever uncovered say that the Element of Prosperity is aware of good an evil when not within a human, however myth says that once the Element turns someone into a Warrior of Prosperity… the Element loses its objectivity and can succumb to both good and evil. Basically, if the Warrior of Prosperity goes down a dark path then the Element goes with.

*Both Zack and Seph listened, Seph’s attention even more focused than Zack’s.

Locke – Legend says that there was only one time where a Warrior of Prosperity truly succumbed to evil. He was one of the earliest, thus there is so little known about him. Those words that woman spoke, they are used as a direct description of how this Warrior functioned. This dark Warrior was considered a tyrant who eventually was filled with hate for his own world, but from everything we’ve been able to find… he was heralded as arguably the most powerful of any Warrior of Prosperity, even regarded as such by Warriors who followed.

*Zack blinked, shocked and tense at the concept of a dark Warrior of Prosperity, with such power at his disposal and no morals to hold him back. But then the key words rang in his mind... "most powerful"... He was instantly aghast that this had been brought up. Sephiroth was seeking power... His eyes narrowed as he looked evenly at Locke.

Zack - I hope you have somewhere else to go with this... Or is that the kind of thing you're trying to tempt?

Locke – By no means do I wish to tempt Seph with the concept of that kind of evil. I’m just pointing out that what I see here is more than just coincidence.

*Seph just nodded, listening intently.

Locke – There’s a threat now which surpasses the strength of even the Element of Prosperity… and our Warrior of Prosperity feels as if he is not strong enough. Perhaps… there is a way to channel such power without compromising who you are. The legend also states that when this dark Warrior finally died his sword was cast into the depths of the planet, it was said that his sword carried the dark power within it even well after his death. Myth speculates that a Warrior of Prosperity may be able to sense this dark power and possibly even channel into his or herself, and if that Warrior would come in direct contact with the dark sword… then all of that power could rejoin the Element.

*Locke stepped closer to the two of them again.

Locke – I’m telling you both this because X feels he needs to be stronger in order to confront these threats. If there is a way to somehow channel this extra strength… we should at least give it a shot. Perhaps there’s a dark nature to the Element that may be stronger than the light side… something that amplifies the already potent Element of Prosperity without giving Seph in to evil.

*Zack looked between Sephiroth and Locke as the details unfolded. He felt slightly more at ease as more was known... and yet, his tension was still there. The risk for any endeavors dabbling in darkness would have to be high. Surely this was no exception. But it sounded like the only way to get on the path to defeating Valtiel... and Dark Crono. But now his mind was full of questions. He blurted them all out, looking at each man they were addressed to.

Zack - Are there any clues as to where that sword might be found? Unless... what IS up with your Masamune, Seph? Something similar? Or could Crono have harnessed something like that?

Locke – Those are all unknowns sadly. We have no evidence to say the sword even exists. What I would want to propose is more or less having X try to channel himself and try to trigger any extra power that the Element may be hiding. In fact the only thing we have in regards to the actual sword is its name.

Sephiroth X – What was the name of the sword?

Locke – It was named… Yamato.

Sephiroth X – Yamato…

*X looked back and forth from Locke to Zack. They could see that Seph was seriously considering this myth about the Element and its levels of power. It was already apparent that if Seph wanted to venture down this path he would need to walk a fine line between good and evil in order to trigger the strength he felt he needed. After a few moments of pure silence Seph looked down at his own hands, slowly he balled his hands into fists and spoke to both of them.

Sephiroth X – It’s something we need to try.

*Back on the bed, the cross-legged soothsayer raised her head slowly her lips began mouthing a new word. The three of them could hear her begin to breathe louder as she tried to summon the ability to say the new word that had come to her. She quickly got the attention of Locke, Seph, and Zack and before she began to speak Locke quickly stepped back over to the keyboard in the room and promptly began recording.

Soothsayer – Se…. Sef… er… oth….

*They all looked at the woman as she tried to assemble her syllables into one complete word. Her weak eyes slowly looked at the men in the room and upon locking her eyes on Sephiroth, her eyes widened and her voice became firm as she spoke her new and final word.

Soothsayer – Sephiroth!

[The Waffle King]

The horrific clouds hovering low over Midgar began to break apart. They sunk lower and lower as they dispersed into the astmosphere. Hazy light began to leak into the city once again. Much of the rust and flesh sunk back to it's home as an unsettling calm washed over everything. Concrete stood tall again, and roads once again regained their regular surface. As quickly as a very real hell had come, it had vanished. Vanished, but not gone. The attuned could still sense the darkness lurking in the shadows and behind doors. Inhuman feet still shuffled through halls and alleyways. All this now wrapped in a shroud of fog. An undulating mist so thick, everything more than a few yards ahead faded into whiteness.The mist settled and for a moment there was an eerie calm as only the echoes of shuffling feet rattled through the city. There was a moment where there were no screams, no chaos, nothing. It was like being in the eye of a hurricane, everything seemed so calm and peaceful but all it meant was that even deadlier chaos was all around you just waiting its turn to strike. Those who had survived the first day of hell were probably well into hiding, simply trying to survive, while the monsters searched for prey.

Catrina found refuge in the basement of a small store. She slammed the basement door shut and braced an old bookshelf against the basement door for a makeshift barricade. Catrina managed to get a couple hours of sleep that night, sleep she felt fortunate to have gotten. As she woke up however her mind focused primarily on two things, Sephiroth and Valtiel. After eating a small breakfast out of what was in the basement she removed her barricade and left the safety of her makeshift home. Slowly she opened the door into the main store and stepped out into it, no monsters in sight. Her next objective was checking outside of the store, from the windows she couldn’t see anything threatening and she then slowly opened up the main door and took a few steps outside.

Catrina – What…?

Through the fog she could see the tops of buildings and see that they were back to their normal concrete state, the same for the walls and street around here. She knew she saw this city transform into some deformed hell barely 24 hours ago… what the hell happened? Cautiously she began walking down the center of the fog filled street looking for anyone else who still might be alive.

Catrina – Hello? Hello!

She knew she couldn’t shout like this too much, there were creatures out there yet and she was doing nothing but giving away her position. Catrina only hopped something deadly wasn’t too close. With her guard up she kept walking and made sure she kept to the large roads since small alleys would be perfect bottlenecks for any would be attackers. Catrina was still obviously stunned by seeing the city in such relatively… fine… condition, even if this fog was definitely annoying.

Catrina – Hello?!

Her words echoed back to her with no response. After a few moments she heard something come from one of the buildings along the road she was on. It sounded like someone or something falling down and landing on something. Catrina looked towards the sounds origin, slowly stepping towards the building it came from. The sound came from what looked like a pawn shop with a large glass display window, as Catrina stepped closer to the window she could feel herself tense up more. Slowly she pressed one hand against the glass and looked into the building.

Catrina - …Hello?

Suddenly something jumped up towards her and slammed against the glass. Catrina shrieked and jumped a few feet back away from the window while looking at the monster. It was an armless torso of a monster that left a slimy residue against the glass and as Catrina stepped further back away from the pawn shop the creature seemed to lose interest in her and slowly sunk back down towards the floor and out of sight. Catrina tried to calm herself and returned to walking down the street. A little ways down the road she heard another unusual noise, this was more of a static noise that was contained somehow. As she led herself towards the origin of this noise she discovered a small hand radio that was discarded in a trash can. This radio was picking up no stations at all, only blaring a constant harsh static. Catrina sighed and tossed the radio back into the trash can.

Catrina – Who would carry this piece of junk around?

As she turned to leave, the radio screeched like an unearthly howl and went silent. A voice came through, clear as day.

Radio - Hello there, lost kitten. Shouldn't you be somewhere safer?
Catrina froze in place and started slowly turning back towards where she discarded the radio, unable to say a word.

Radio - I'd like to have a word with you. *chuckles* You won't be going very far from now on.

Catrina stepped back towards the trash can, looking down into it directly at the radio. Even though she knew the radio had no microphone in it or any way for her voice to translate back through.

Catrina – Who… who are you?

Radio - Me? I am all that you see before you. The hand that has molded all that is around you. The eyes that always hover behind you and the fangs waiting in the shadows. You already know who I am, and I already know who you are my dear. The real question is, what will I do with you?

The radio crackled and screeched a little.

Catrina backed away from the radio, stunned that it responded to her verbal comments. She understood who it was on the other end of the radio and immediately turned around and began to run down the road. She knew this was destined to happen but that didn’t stop the fact that she didn’t want it to happen.

Catrina – No way in hell I’m letting you catch me so easily…

Before she got too far, she slammed into a presence that rapidly developed from the fog and she fell down onto the pavement as she slowly looked up and saw Valtiel standing behind her. She quickly hopped up to her feet and launched one spinning kick that landed on the side of Valtiel’s head. The kick connected with a wet thud, the beast stood still as a statue, unphased. As she tried to follow through with the kick, his grotesque hand latched onto her ankle and hauled her into the air.

Valtiel - Now, now. We won't be having any of that. You'll need that energy for later, trust me.

He spoke calmly as he walked her over to the trash can, the radio screeching louder as they approached, almost as if it was in pain. The device finally had all it could take and fried, the smell of burnt plastic and rubber wafted out of the trash, the smoke twining around Catrina for a moment. There was an uncomfortable pause, then he plopped her back onto the ground.

Valtiel - I want X here, and I know he'll be coming for you.

Catrina slowly dusted herself off and stood back up.

Catrina – And what the hell do you want with him huh? The Element?

She took a few steps back, trying to distance herself from him.

Catrina – You better be careful what you wish for… if he comes for me he’s going to bring hell with him.

Valtiel - Hell? Look around you, what more could he possibly bring? I won't be taking the element when he gets here. I want to break him first. I will put him through trials inimaginable by your weak human mind. And after he's collapes, beaten, and defeated, he'll give me the element with his own hand and beg for his nightmare to end.

He moved forward as lumbering figures started to appear out of the fog around them.

Valtiel - And you? You're here for my amusement. You'll bring him here for me, and then you can experience the same treatment as him. And we can all be together, dosn't that sound nice?

Catrina froze as she saw countless figures slowly circle around. She tried to stay calm and finally came up with some possible way to preserve herself.

Catrina – What if… the Element was already here for you… a part of it?

She looked around at all of the figures before finally staying locked on Valtiel, keeping as calm as she can.

Catrina – You have me… Instead of using me as bait… perhaps use me as a gateway to the Element… a gateway to more power…

Little did she know, the words ‘more power’ were words that ran through the mind of Sephiroth X as well. Catrina slowly began stepping closer to Valtiel as she tried to pass off the image that Valtiel wasn’t going to intimidate her.

Valtiel - Now, I've been truthful to you, telling you what will be happening in the future. You wouldn't try lying to me, would you? If you are, you'd hurt my feelings. And my mood can have a great impact on many things.

As he said this, the creatures around him all shrieked in agony and twisted around in place. Catrina gulped slowly, trying to maintain her confidence.

Catrina – Why would I lie to you at this point….?
A hunched creature hobbled up behind Valtiel, the cleaver skewered through its torso, dirbbling behind it a trail of black goo from the wound. It stopped at its side, wavering, like it was about to collapse.

Valtiel - Now, if you're not lying to me, I get to have a little fun before the inevitable end for humanity. And if you ARE lying, I still get to have my fun, and fate does not waver from its course. I will win, they will lose, and all will be set right again. Now, shall we begin?

Valtiel pulled the blade from the creature, it fell to the ground, almost torn in half. He took a slow step forward.

Valtiel - Please, try not to make this too easy.

Catrina gulped again. She knew she wasnt telling the truth, she knew of her link to the Element and knew it wasnt going to be what Valtiel desired. Catrina could sense a cold chill run down her spine as she knew she was in far too deep. She just hoped she was buying enough time for Seph and his friends.

Catrina - Alright. What do you need...

[Shadow Phoenix]

Black Spider roused. He lifted his head from the desert floor and spewed out a lungful of sand, coughing and sputtering as he struggled to breathe. His first proper breath was cut short, and he remembered his broken ribs…which reminded him of why he was here. Black Spider whirled around and faced Midgar (though his multitude of injuries made it painful). He was more than a mile outside of the city…he had been punched savagely hard and been knocked really far. By Hodia…

According to Bax, though, Hodia had been killed when he crashed! And Black Spider hadn’t sensed her at all these past few months. The last time he had seen her was the last time he had seen Bax—3 or 4 years ago, when Black Spider had been on a mission and ran into them. But…while Hodia had always been strong as a high-ranking general in the Auralisian army, she had never struck him as quite that strong.

Black Spider recognized himself as a powerful warrior—he had suffered very few losses in his long lifetime, and had overcome remarkable odds to get to where he was. Part of that was because of his natural abilities as a Shape Shifter, and part of it was because of his long possession by Ragnarok. It amazed him that she was able to fight on that level. Perhaps it was just a few tricks, or maybe she really was that strong, but Black Spider was still amazed at her abilities. As a warrior, he respected anyone who was able to fight at such a high level, even an enemy. An enemy…as an assassin and mercenary, he had grown accustomed to betrayal by those he believed to be allies, but he had not expected this from Hodia.

Midgar now appeared relatively…normal. The black clouds above the city had dissipated and it now appeared to be covered in a dense fog instead. While before, the buildings had been made of rotting flesh, they now appeared to be metal once again. Could it have all been a dream?

No…these injuries were not a dream. Midgar had come through hell, and still looked like it remained a vestige of it. Black Spider could only imagine what the inhabitants of the city had come through after he was knocked out. He had seen enough horror.

So from the look of it, none of his allies had succeeded in finding or defeating Valtiel either. Black Spider wondered if they had all made it out all right. He had a splitting headache, so he couldn’t focus enough to try and sense any of them. He was injured and very dehydrated. He would need to get something to eat and drink before he could really manage to do anything sensible. He knew that this was called the Desert of the Dead, but he knew for a fact that he would find a river or an oasis if he looked hard enough.

Black Spider sighed and settled down to begin the process of repairing his body, mending his bones, and getting back into shape. Even though he tried to clear his mind, he couldn’t focus specifically on any of them—Sephiroth X, Bax, Zack, Jack, or Valtiel. He would need to find the first four at some point to regroup and figure out what to do about the fifth. But he had a strange sinking feeling that it wasn’t going to be that easy. Valtiel had changed the rules of the game. Nothing would ever be the same for them.

[Shadow Phoenix]

“I took the time to save you, and you were ready to give up anyway. Talk about thanks.”

…what? Who was…

“You ought to wake up. Open your eyes, at the very least.”

“Look, he’s stirring.”

Who’s stirring? Me? But aren’t I…didn’t I…

“No, you didn’t. So wake up.”

Who are you?

“Never mind that, you’ll find out soon enough. You’re still in danger.”

My head is killing me.

“Good thing you thought to bring him back here. I would have assumed he was dead.”
“Nah, not after that. Remember seeing this guy on TV before?”
“Oh yeah! Couple times.”

TV? Of course…

“Hello? Are you okay?”

I guess I should open my eyes…

* * *

Bax’s eyes slowly flickered open. As his vision began to focus, he found himself in a dimly lit room. Two faces greeted him, one on either side. They were young—a teenaged boy and girl. Who were they? And where was he? What was going on?

Bax’s vision faded in and out of focus for a moment and he wrinkled his forehead as he began to remember what was going on. He was in Midgar…and…he had gone to fight Valtiel. But…he had run into Hodia instead. And then…

Bax was sure that he had died. Even after the Valermos and Diroxauralis awoke to save him. He thought that a zombie had come to his broken body and finished him off. But apparently it had been one of these two young ones.

Bax still couldn’t wrap his mind around everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. He had come from a horrific battle in the Super City with the three rogue Magi to Midgar, which had quickly descended into hell. Then, to top it all off, he had run into his best friend, who turned out to be an agent of the Apocalypse. If he tried to digest it all right now, he was sure that his head would explode. So he tried to push it from his mind.

Bax pursed his lips and tried to open them so he could speak. But his lips were so cut up and chapped that they were stuck together. He gurgled from his throat and pushed his tongue up to try and separate his lips. But his whole throat and mouth felt dryer than the desert. For a moment, his tongue stuck to the back of his lips. Bax began breathing heavy and shallow, which hurt because of his broken ribs and myriad of other injuries.

“Geez, Mai, I think he’s panicking.”
“Shh, Julian. I’ll go get some water so he can drink.”

Normally, the mention of water would have made Bax jump out of his skin, but in this case, he welcomed it. While an excess of water would certainly kill Phoeniyans, they still needed fluids to survive. It might burn a little against his wounds, but it would quench his thirst, and that was all he wanted at this point.

‘Mai’ disappeared from Bax’s vision and Julian leaned over him with a perplexed expression. “It’ll be okay, man. Just calm down.”
Bax looked into the eyes of the young man and nodded. He stuck his tongue out through his lips and opened his mouth. “Thank you,” he whispered in a harsh, raspy burst of air.

Mai reappeared with a bottle of water, which she uncapped and began to move towards Bax’s mouth.
“Julian, we can’t afford to spill this. Prop his head up.”
Julian didn’t move for a moment. “You sure that’s such a good idea? I mean, his head is kind of…covered in fire…”
“Stop being such a pansy. I carried him here, remember? I didn’t get burned.”
“Fine, fine.”
Bax winced a little bit as Julian cradled his neck and lifted his head up. He opened his mouth and gratefully accepted the cool water. It crackled against his lips and he squeezed his eyes in mild pain. But it felt fantastic as it slid down his throat.

After a few moments, Mai relinquished the bottle. Bax took a deep breath and turned his head to look her in the eyes.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“More?” she asked in a strong, yet still sweet voice.
“Please.”
She tipped the bottle again and Bax drank more of the cool liquid. He drank his fill, sloshing it around his mouth with his tongue before swallowing it and allowing it to quench his burning throat.

Julian lightly set Bax’s head back on the floor and Mai took a sip from the bottle before handing it to Julian. He also took a drink and then capped the bottle. Rationing. Smart.

Bax’s vision was beginning to get better. He looked first at the two kids who had taken care of him.

Mai was a young teenaged girl, maybe 16 years old, with long, raven black hair that reached down past the midpoint of her back. She was about medium height, and was wearing a tattered blue blouse and blue jeans. She had light gray-blue eyes that kind of reminded Bax of Zack’s eyes—a kind of lost innocence, filled with concern. She had obviously seen quite a bit in this hell. Bax didn’t know quite how she had survived, but it sounded like she was the one who saved him.

Julian appeared to be a little younger than Mai, probably about 14. His hair was even darker, but was shorter, swept to the side and looking a little greasy. His complexion was more tanned. He had the appearance of a scared young kid, and spoke with a put-on voice to make him sound older and tougher than he was.

And this room…it looked like a closet in the back of a small store. There were some supplies stashed in here, still wrapped in plastic, along with some brooms, mops, and…guns. And it was no wonder that Bax could barely see anything…the single light-bulb in the room was broken.

So these kids had taken up fort in the back of this store, where they had supplies to survive. Good survival instincts.

“So good morning,” Mai said, with a little bit more energy and bounce in her voice. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Mai…and until yesterday, I was a student at Sector 06 High.”
Her voice fell and her face contorted for a moment. She held back tears by closing her eyes and forced a smile.
“And I’m Julian,” the boy on Bax’s other side said. “Same deal. Student. Mai and I are…were…next door neighbors.”
“Who are you?” Mai asked.
Bax took a deep breath and coughed. Julian put his hand on Bax’s shoulder. “You all right?”
“I’m fine,” Bax said, wincing. “Just a little…hurt. I’m Bax Firago…a visitor. Thank you for saving me.”
Mai nodded. “Nice to meet you, Bax. I was walking around, just looking for…anyone. And I happened upon you, like, right in the center of the city. What were you doing there?”
Bax wasn’t sure what this young girl was doing walking around unprotected, but he ignored the thought and answered. “Trying to stop it…”
“You mean…the transformation?” Julian asked.
“Mhmmm.”
Mai and Julian looked at each other in disbelief. “How?” they both asked.
“By killing the creature that started it.”
Julian looked at Bax, then back at Mai. “I told you he looked strong. And crazy.”
Bax smiled a little. That was accurate enough, he supposed.
“Don’t be rude, Julian!” Mai chastised her friend. “I’m sorry for him. He hardly has any manners.”
Bax shook his head. “I don’t mind…”

Bax coughed again and looked at the kids closer. “So…what happened? How did the two of you survive? Almost every human that I ran into was affected by the rain or killed by those it affected.”
Julian shook his head, “I have no clue. I was walking with Mai and some other friends. They all started turning, but Mai and I were okay. We just started running. I don’t even know anymore…what the hell was all that? And why?”
Bax frowned. “I wish I could tell you the why…it all seems senseless. But…I can tell you the what.”

Bax briefly related an account of how Valtiel had taken over the city. He left out the details of his possession by an ancient god, and things that connected this to other worlds and ancient history. But he couldn’t leave these kids completely in the dark.

“My God,” Mai said at last, fear dripping from her voice. And yet, both she and Julian seemed desensitized. It was as if they had seen so much that they had disconnected. So even though they were terrified, they couldn’t manifest it as they would have before. It was strange to see children this way. “If you had told me a day ago that any of this could ever happen, I would have told you that you were nuts. But after all the TV broadcasts showing the kinds of stuff that has happened these last few months…I’ll believe anything anymore.”
Julian nodded. “Giant worms, people able to use magic, aliens, that Warrior of Prosperity stuff…it all seemed like the stuff of myths and legends. It’s crazy.”

Bax shifted. “Help me up. I need to sit up.”
Julian and Mai helped Bax into a sitting position.
“Even though I am hurt…we are not safe here. Valtiel is probably still very much in control of this city. And if he finds out that I am alive, he will come to kill me. And I am sure that his minions are still roaming the city. If we can get out of Midgar, we should. If you know of any other survivors, you should tell them, too. We need to leave as soon as possible.”

Mai wrinkled her nose. “I’ve been outside. You’re right about the creatures and everything. They’re still outside, but it doesn’t look like there are as many of them at this point. I found a few other people…but my cell phone isn’t working anymore. It’s weird; it just keeps putting out static. I didn’t even know cell phones could do that.”
Julian interjected. “And I dunno…I’m kinda scared to go out there.”
Bax understood. With their logic, they probably figured that it was safer to wait things out in here until things blew over. But this city would not go back to its normal state until Valtiel was killed. And Bax certainly wasn’t in the shape to do that. Sephiroth X, Zack, and Jack were all probably long gone as well. So the best way to survive would be to get out.

Bax looked at them with a serious expression. “I know that you are scared, but we still need to leave. This will not simply end. Valtiel has his hellish grip on this city, and nothing will stop that. Grab some weapons and some supplies. We will be heading into the Desert of the Dead and might be there for a while.”

Still, Bax didn’t know how he would manage to move with his broken leg. The other injuries, he could deal with, but he couldn’t even walk. And he still didn’t have the energy to heal himself.

“All right…we can wait for a little bit. I do not even think I can walk. If you can help me stabilize my leg and get me some fire, though, we may be able to speed the process along. In the mean time, gather the people you know so that we can make preparations to leave. We will need to be stealthy, though…Valtiel surely has eyes everywhere. It will be difficult to get out.”

Julian and Mai nodded. “We’ll do what we can.”

It was odd to be working with kids half his age…but Bax felt like they would be able to handle this. They had survived Valtiel’s onslaught, so they obviously had some clue of how to take care of themselves.

Now he just had to get back in better shape so he could walk.

[Shadow Phoenix]

Bax swiveled his leg around a little bit, checking to see the progress of healing. Julian and Mai had gathered some foil, coal, lighter fluid, and matches to set a fire under Bax’s broken leg. They had also devised a makeshift sling to hold up the leg and keep it stable during the healing process. Granted, they were a little baffled by his request to burn himself, but they accepted it as they had been forced to accept all of the other “mystical” happenings on their planet.

His leg was doing better, at least. Since he was so low on energy, it was taking more time to heal than it normally would have—although, he had been in more and more straits like this over the last few months. It seemed like every few days, he was marching off into a battle and coming out completely drained. It was like he was fighting a war. Which, in a way, he was.

Bax reached to his side and grabbed another one of the energy bars that Julian had brought him. They tasted horrible, but Bax could definitely feel his energy reserves filling up. Low-tech. Very interesting. It worked. He hoped he would be ready within the hour. He didn’t have time to wait around anymore…and the longer he waited, the more ominous the atmosphere became.

Bax heard the door to the store open and he looked up as six people shuffled in.
“Shh,” came a whisper. Slowly, they all came in and filed before Bax. The first two were Julian and Mai. The other four were also young, but older than the two of them.
“These are the other survivors I found,” said Mai. “Guys, this is Bax. I found him at the center of the city.”
Bax nodded his head, “Forgive me for not standing to greet you.” He smiled and waited for their introductions.
A blonde man with spiked hair raised his head. “Ricky.”
A somewhat pudgy, shorter man with unkempt black hair and stubble stuck his thumbs on his pockets and smirked. “Joe.”
A tall, dark-skinned girl with short hair bowed her head, “I am Raia.”
The last stranger, a redheaded boy with some freckles dotting his face, looked to Bax’s side, feeling uncomfortable about making eye contact. He kind of mumbled his name. “Owen.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Bax said.

It seemed like a rag-tag bunch. Bax couldn’t gather if they had all known each before or not, but they had been thrown together by their circumstances. Owen seemed to be the most affected of the group…but Bax wasn’t going to ask any questions. He didn’t want to pry.

“So,” Julian said. “Are you almost ready to go?”
Bax nodded, “I will be ready soon. For now, let us just finish gathering supplies. If we are going to be in the Desert, we will need food, water, and weapons. Also, we should have some sort of destination.”
“Yeah, but where the hell could we go?” said Ricky, the blonde.
Bax frowned. “Right. Zion is on the other side of the continent. And they would probably not greet us very kindly…me in particular.”
“Besides, those Zionites are bastards,” Owen said with a sneer.
Bax frowned. This animosity was striking. He knew that Midgar and Zion hated each other, but it was still hard to hear this speech from young ones.
“And we probably won’t be able to get to the Super City,” said Joe. “I wish we could, but hey.”
“It is hard to say how we will be able to deal with the drifters, as well,” said Raia, who seemed like a calm voice of reason in this group of angered youth. “I have some friends in the drifters, but there’s no telling if we will run into them…or if they are even alive.”
Bax nodded. “In other words, we have almost nowhere to go.”

Silence. It was true…

“I’ve heard rumors,” Mai began, “about some towns that survived in the Desert of the Dead. They’ve managed to survive without much contact from either Midgar or Zion, and the Drifters tend to leave them alone. We could try to find one of them.”
“That would be like searching for a needle in a haystack,” Ricky sighed.
“Do you have any better ideas?” Julian snapped back.
Ricky didn’t.

The conversation continued on for about twenty more minutes, and the seven gathered argued about what to do. Finally, they decided on—nothing—and went off to finish gathering supplies. At some point while they were off, Bax felt the last pieces of his bones mend to the point where they would be able to support his weight. He wouldn’t be able to run or fight on it, but he could at least walk out of the city. He got up and strapped his own weapons on his back. He went off and grabbed a bag and began to fill it with food and water.

Finally, he ran into Mai as she came back into the store with a large rifle slung across her back. She smiled. “Glad to see that you’re feeling better and on your feet. I guess that fire really did work, eh?”
Bax nodded, “The nice thing about my race. I still probably won’t be able to run or fight, but this should be enough for me get out of the city and walk until nightfall. Where is everyone else?”
“Coming. We agreed to meet in about five minutes.”
“Good.”

They all gathered, laden with supplies and weapons, and got ready to go.
“Stay together, everyone,” said Joe. “If you see anything, alert the group.”
“And don’t be afraid to shoot anything that moves,” Owen spit.
“Cept us,” Ricky reminded.
Owen chuckled, “Right.”
“All right,” Mai said, “Enough talk. Let’s move.”

Bax took the rear guard and walked behind the other six as they maneuvered through the fog. They moved quickly through the streets, being especially careful around corners. But they didn’t run into anything out of the ordinary. Bax was glad of that at least. Perhaps they were actually passing under Valtiel’s radar. Obviously, these six had enough power that they had been able to fend of the black rain, but they weren’t too strong that Valtiel could detect their presence. Or at least, Bax hoped so.

Finally, Bax saw the city limits, and a lump formed in his throat. He was going to get out of this hell! Maybe once he got out with these kids, he would be able find Zack, Jack, and Sephiroth X. They would know what to do, wouldn’t they?

At last, they passed through the dense fog and out onto the sands of the desert. They got a few dozen yards out of the city, and then slowed down a little. They turned around and looked at each other with half-smiles on their faces. It was relief. They had escaped the worst nightmare of their lives.

And while Bax figured that he would feel a huge amount of relief as well, he didn’t. After everything that he had been through, that seemed far too easy. No last minute minions to drag them back into the city? No portal to plant them right back in the middle of the hell? No false dream to show Bax that it had all been a lie?

Bax pinched himself just to be sure. Well, it was real. He looked back. No one was coming out of the city. Maybe they had really escaped…

Bax allowed something dangerous to well up inside of him—hope and confidence. He knew from experience that those were two feelings that, if unchecked, could get you killed. But even though he tried to suppress them, he couldn’t help but feel like maybe there was a chance that he could make it through this.

“All right, we’ve come this far. We might as well keep going on,” Raia said.
Everyone agreed and they left Midgar behind and ventured into the bowels of the Desert of the Dead.

[Shadow Phoenix]

OoC: So until Bax runs into some of you again, I'm just gonna keep going with what I've got. Peace!

IC:

Bax had been traveling with the six strangers for about an hour, mostly in silence, when he decided to break that silence and try to get to know these people a little bit better.
“So. How do you all know each other? And how did you find each other after the…nightmare?”
Julian and Mai had already told him their story, so they let the other four people talk.

Ricky spoke up first. “I work with computers, mostly. I used to hack a lot, but then my company hired me to start doing some “honest” work. I still use my old skills, though…mostly to gather intelligence on Zion for Midgar. I’ve also been teaching some computer classes at Julian and Mai’s school lately. I was walking with some friends of mine who have also been teaching at the school, but they all turned when the rain started. I twisted my ankle trying to get away from them. I was able to hack into a locked down building, where I hid out for a little while. Then I saw this crazy cloaked person walking towards the center of the city. They gave me a real bad vibe…spoke into my mind. Really creepy…so I got out of the building, and that’s when I ran into Julian and Mai. They brought me back to the store where we waited out for a while. I split from them to head back to my dorm when things calmed down, to try and find out of anyone else had survived…but I didn’t find anyone.”

Owen spoke next. “I’m a business major at a college in Midgar. I went to school with Ricky’s brother, so that’s how I knew him. We were catching breakfast at the quad with our girlfriends when…the rain started. Ricky’s brother started turning first. Then he attacked his girlfriend. Me and my girl ran away…but she started turning, too. I had to leave her, too…I hid out in an alley for a while until I saw Joe wandering around. He’s my mechanic. Why would something like this happen? Who could do this?”
Bax frowned. No wonder Owen had seemed so standoffish and angry earlier. He had plenty of reason to be angry. “I don’t know why, Owen. I’m sorry.”

Joe spoke next. “Like Owen said, I’m a mechanic. Grease-monkey. My business is near Julian and Mai’s neighborhood, so I saw them sometimes when their folks brought their cars in. Me, I was opening up my business when things went down. I, uh…I did some things I’m not proud of…to stay alive. But those things…even if they used to be humans…they were so vicious. I couldn’t just let them attack me or anyone else. I…”
Joe shuddered and tried to push it from his mind. He had obviously been through a lot himself. Bax sympathized. He had probably had to kill some friends and customers when they turned.

Anyway,” he kept going, trying to keep a smile on his pained face. “After a while, I ventured out to see if I could find anyone. I wanted to get back to check on my…my wife. But I ran into Owen in the alley. He walked with me to my apartment complex, but…I don’t know what happened. While most of the rest of the buildings had been…transformed…my apartment had been smashed to bits. I tried to call her, but…”
Joe broke into tears and Owen put his hand on his shoulder.
“Keep hope, man…you don’t know that she was in there. Maybe she got out of the city, right?” Owen said, trying to comfort his friend. “We looked around for her, sifted through the rubble and all. Didn’t find anything.”

Joe was practically inconsolable. The one who seemed like the most optimistic one of the group was now sobbing. What a poor man…at least he had some friends here to help him.

Raia spoke last. “I am also a teacher at Julian and Mai’s school. Mai is actually a student in my chemistry class. A good student. I was driving to the school when everything happened. I crashed my car when some…people…got in my way. I almost didn’t escape. But a fellow teacher helped me out of my car and we fled. Unfortunately, he…one of those flying creatures grabbed him. I haven’t seen him since. Mai found me later on and brought me back to the store.”

Bax felt horrible for all of these people. They had all experienced horrible loss in the last 24 hours. But they had banded together, even though not all of them knew each other directly, and they were supporting each other as they dealt with these trials. These humans continued to impress Bax. He didn’t know what Valtiel was talking about…they were worth their salt! They had morals and values, experienced pain, and supported each other! Not all of them were rotten like the Magi and the Senate! Why did they deserve to undergo so much pain? Bax’s blood boiled as he thought of all the misery these six and others like them had gone through as a result of Valtiel’s sick insanity.

“I am sorry for your losses,” Bax said at last. “But I promise that I will not rest until Midgar is restored. The being that caused this nightmare is powerful, but I know that he can be defeated. We will get to a safe place to recover, and then we will come up with some plan of counterattack.”

It wasn’t much, but it was something. And it was all that Bax could offer to these poor souls for now. Bax closed his eyes for a moment and tried to sense his friends, but he still had a headache and was too weak to get his mind out beyond his immediate area. He was probably too weak for his own energy to carry off to wherever his allies were. So he certainly couldn’t manage to summon Keldira right now. He resigned himself for now to walk with these people until he recovered some more strength and could come up with a better plan of action.

The three students, two teachers, one mechanic, and a king continued to walk over the desert sands, climbing dunes and scaling the ever-changing landscape. And slowly they began to ease into each other’s company. They had been thrown together by fate, but perhaps they would be able to help each other. Besides—Bax didn’t believe in fate.

[Sephiroth X]

*Sephiroth X, Zack, and Locke left the tent holding the soothsayer and proceeded to walk to a different area within Libertas, the whole time they found themselves in conversation.

Zack – You sure about this Seph?

*X simply nodded.

Locke – Well from everything we’ve been able to pull from our old libraries and from what we hacked in Zion’s archives it seems that this darker power is somehow triggered by anger or rage. Now while obviously we don’t want to reach the extremes of the Warrior in this legends–

Sephiroth X – You want me to push myself as close to the ledge as possible without falling over.

Locke – If you want to use that metaphor then be my guest.

Sephiroth X – Now the next big step here is that whole anger part, I can’t exactly flip a switch and suddenly be all pissed off… Well not most of the time.

Locke – That’s the thing… we need to find something that you can channel and focus on.

Zack – Yeah, like something that made you angry in the past.

Locke – That way–

*As the three of them walked, Locke noticed a discarded bottle of wine sitting atop a crate.

Locke – Don’t mind if I do… That way you might be able to recreate those darker emotions and light the proverbial fire within you.

*Locke tasted the wine and momentarily made a bitter face while tossing the bottle over his shoulder.

Locke – Bleh… bad year I guess. Anyways, what I’m getting to Seph is basically at any point in your more recent past has there been anything that has made you feel like you snapped… or was pushed to another level of intensity or anger…

*Seph slowed his pace and stood in pace for a moment while one memory rose from within his mind.

Sephiroth X – Yes… I remember one…

*X flashed back to his battle with Dark Crono in the Super City.

Sephiroth X – When I fought Crono… he had me paralyzed with that glare of his… he… spoke to me about how he manipulated both Catrina and I right up until that fight…

*X remembered Crono’s words… They still echoed through his mind.

…You pathetic mortals and your false perception of life. You were an incomplete tube experiment and raised by ancient alchemy. Even with your worthier potential for existence, you yearned only for love and companionship. I merely salvaged your failure when I determined how to extract the Element. The puzzle and paradox of nature required only three beings to unveil the Valley, and yet a fourth was born to aid the feeble link in the elemental chain. She… she was manufactured for your blind misery and disposed when I no longer required her. Catrina.

*And X then remembered how it stirred a powerful anger within him as the weight of everyone he knew suddenly slammed onto his shoulders. He then remembered how he felt his part of the Element flow through him like a new kind of adrenaline.

Sephiroth X – I was… frustrated… enraged. A deep fury that had been caged for so long within me suddenly wanted out. It allowed me to somehow break Crono’s gaze and resist his power… it let me fight with a new strength I had not felt before.

*Locke and Zack both looked at X for a few moments listening. Zack was particularly intrigued by this given that X had never shared the full details of his battle with Crono to him.

Locke – That’s what you need to do… Try to recreate it and channel that level again, perhaps it can trigger exactly the power you need.

Sephiroth X – I’ll need to be alone someplace… can that be arranged?

*Locke smiled a little and spoke in a lighter tone.

Locke – Psh, why do you think so low of me?

*Locke nodded over to a nice sized tent near them.

Locke – I already had it arranged. Although excuse me for not giving you housewarming gifts, its quite bare in there.

Sephiroth X – Thank you, Locke.

Locke – As far as I’m concerned we all share the same boat in this world, except for maybe some of those higher up Zion scum heads, so if one of us sink we all sink.

Sephiroth X – And what exactly does that have to do about this?

Locke – Well I don’t know about you personally but I’d much rather sink on a battleship then on a row boat.

*X smirked a little bit and then he and Zack walked towards the tent Locke provided. Before walking up to the entrance to the tent X stopped and turned to Zack.

Sephiroth X – I need you to stay outside too. I know you wouldn’t get in the way or disturb me, but I do need to be alone.

Zack – Ya sure? I trust you and I know you wouldn’t do anything radical Seph but… I dunno I’m still just a little iffy on this whole idea.

Sephiroth X – I know how you feel and normally I’d agree with you… But Catrina’s still out there in Midgar, I need to get her back.

*Zack nodded and took a step back as Seph turned and walked into the tent. Upon walking inside he looked around and saw nothing in the room what so ever. Seph figured this would be ideal, nothing in here at all to distract him. As X took a few more steps towards the center of the tent a female voice spoke out to him.

Cid – You really don’t recognize me, do you Sephy?

*Seph recognized the voice to be the female drifter, Cid. She was standing behind him near the exit of the tent, apparently she was waiting for him.

Sephiroth X – Only two people I’ve ever known have called me ‘Sephy’. One of them is trapped in Midgar, the other was a girl I knew when I was young.

Cid – A girl who wanted you to ask her out on a date for about three years before you finally went through and asked. I’m glad to see you remember me so fondly as ‘a girl I knew’.

Sephiroth X – I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you Cynthia. Sorry, but the whole escaping the clutches of a monster only to get the butt of a drifter rifle slammed into your face blurs your vision just a tad for a while. Plus you never went by the name ‘Cid’ back then.

Cid – Oh deep down you’re still the old Sephy I knew. Well after living primarily with men like this for so long you kind of get used to being treated like one of them, thus I got the moniker of Cid. I dunno it’s a good memorable nickname I guess, seems like everybody I meet says ‘I remembered someone named Cid’. And they each tell me the whole story about the first time they met him.

Sephiroth X – Well its first time for me.

Cid – I guess that makes me your first twice now doesn’t it?

*She looked at him with a coy smile on her face.

Sephiroth X – Cynthia…

Cid – Oh jeez lighten up with ya! It’s not every day you meet a ghost from the past, especially one as distant and as suddenly famous as you.

Sephiroth X – These aren’t exactly the lightest of times.

Cid – Well you need to remember the light otherwise you’ll only know darkness.

Sephiroth X – I need to be alone.

Cid – I know, I listened in on what you and Locke were talking about.

Sephiroth X – Then you will know why I’m doing this… or who I’m doing this for.

Cid – Yeah, your girl.

*She smiled.

Cid – Like I said, when I found you I could tell you had the look of a heartbroken man. I think what you’re trying to do now is noble in a romantic kind of way. Plus you know there’s the whole helping mankind factor in this too.

Sephiroth X – I’m quite frankly stunned at how light hearted you are about all of this.

Cid – Hey… someone’s gotta be.

*She walked up to Seph and gave him a tight hug.

Cid – Good luck. Don’t do anything foolish, ok?

*Seph nodded and Cid slowly made her exit from the tent. Seph did feel bad for not remembering her right away, she was an old friend of his from his early teens and they eventually became quite close as she so bluntly reminded him. What drove them apart was the military, Seph enlisted to serve the Zion army in his late teens and she never was an advocate of military force at all back then. X found it odd how time changes things.

*X sat himself down cross legged in the center of the tent with the Masamune laying in front of him. He rested his hands on his knees and slowly closed his eyes as he began to shut out the world around him and focus on the internal world within him. Seph began trying to recreate that moment with Crono in his mind, the setting, intensity, the atmosphere. As he continued to focus harder he could literally see and touch the abandoned building that he and Crono crashed into. He could hear Crono’s words being spoke again and he could see and feel that demonizing yellow eye freezing every muscle he had. Seph could feel some of those feelings run through him again but it just wasn’t the same as before… This time there was no weight on his shoulders like there was then during that battle. As he tried to recreate those emotions his thoughts drifted back on Catrina and the events of the last day. He remembered the screaming citizens of Midgar… the return of Crono… the fall of Midgar… the rise of Valtiel… the loss of Catrina. As Seph tried focusing back on the battle with Crono he couldn’t help but feel those other memories and emotions mix with the emotions he was trying to recreate.

*Sephiroth X remembered how much he hated Dark Crono for what he did to both he and Catrina. He began to remember how the weight of the world was placed on his shoulders even before he became the Warrior of Prosperity. Seph remembered what it was like to feel helpless when he was trapped within Valtiel’s version of Hell. X couldn’t help but feel that what happened in Midgar was entirely his fault, like the weight of the world actually was on his shoulders and he failed. Seph could hear the screams again, the burning images, the glowing eye of Crono, he could hear and see Catrina screaming… All of this due to his failure.

*X’s hands curled into fists as he sat cross legged. His eyes remained closed but his face grew to reflect anger and hate while X felt familiar feelings of hatred and determination run through his body. Seph felt angry at his lack of power, his thirst to become stronger grew continuously as it was fueled by every dark emotion within him. X could feel himself standing up against Dark Crono just like he did in the Super City, but this time it was different... dark emotions from every area of his consciousness intermixed within Seph. He could feel something stirring within him… was this the power the Element was holding back within him? The anger and fury within him pumped through his veins like powerful adrenaline making his heart race. Seph kept his eyes closed and tried to focus all of these emotions together within him and control them, using a great deal of willpower in the process.

*And then as Seph gasped for a breath of air he felt himself pass out, and everything went dark.

[Shadow Phoenix]

After the band of seven had been walking for about 3 or 4 hours, it was beginning to get dark. Midgar was a practically blip in the distance now. They were at least 10 miles away.
“We should probably stop soon and set up camp,” Julian said.
Bax nodded. “Soon.” The Phoeniyan felt tired, and he knew that if he was exhausted by this troublesome hike, that his human companions were probably feeling about the same. Granted, Bax had fought to his limit twice in the past two days with very little time to rest in between, but he still had large reserves of energy. And he was about ready to drop.

Bax felt something, then. Something strange. The wind picked up a little bit and began to throw sand around faster than it normally did. It was the beginning of a sandstorm—but its suddenness made Bax question and wonder. Sandstorms were normal (though they could be a pain), but the circumstances seemed ominous. He raised his hand to his Diroxauralis and lightly grasped the hilt. He couldn’t be too careful.

Five minutes later, it was clear that it wasn’t just a little bit of wind. The wind roared around them, and they were smack dab in the middle of a raging sandstorm. Now they couldn’t stop. They had to get out of this storm. Staying in one of these storms could only prove problematic, especially if the winds became stronger. Bax felt the sand stinging against his cheeks, and he raised his unoccupied arm to cover as much of his face as he could while he peered forward.
“Shit!” one of his companions called. Bax could barely distinguish them anymore. “Can’t see a thing! Keep moving! We’ll make it through this and then stop.”
“What if we’re just going further in?”
“We’ll just have to take that chance!”

Another minute later, the sand was blocking out the setting sun. The temperature dropped as the sand pelted them.
“This isn’t normal. Something’s wrong!”
Bax called out, “Everyone hang on! Just stop moving for a minute.”
They stopped as he said. Bax waited for a few moments, then strode forward and narrowed his eyes as he tried to peer through the walls of sand. In the distance, he could see three figures striding towards them.
“Someone is coming,” he said.
“Shit, get your weapons!” That sounded like Mai.

Bax knew he couldn’t fight if it came to that, but he drew his swords anyway, squinting his eyes to avoid the blast of sand. Maybe he had enough energy in him to cast aside this sandstorm so that they could figure out what they were up against. He took a deep breath and swung his blades forward, sending a large fireball rocketing into the storm. It spiraled around in the opposite direction of the wind. The heat and opposite movement seemed to disrupt the flow of the sand, and the storm began to calm down. Unfortunately, Bax was still low on energy, so that fatigued him. He stumbled a little and began to fall. He propped himself up on his swords and peered forward as the dust all around them fell.

“Steady,” Ricky said in a low voice. “We don’t know who they are, but we can’t take any chances.”
Bax looked forward, but his vision blurred a little due to his exhaustion. He couldn’t see clearly right away.
“You think they’re drifters?” Joe asked, cradling his rifle.
“No,” Raia responded. “Not with the way they’re walking.”

Slowly, Bax’s vision came back to normal and he looked through the shadows. There were indeed three people. And they appeared to be dressed in black leather. With capes. Actually, if Bax wasn’t mistaken, their garb almost appeared like…Sephiroth X’s outfit. But that didn’t make sense, did it?

Bax stood up and squinted his eyes. One of them was very dark skinned and had a shaved head. Another, a woman, had medium-length purple hair. And the last had blonde hair coming down to his shoulders. And the last detail…even at this distance in this muddled field of vision, Bax could see their eyes. They glowed green. Like Sephiroth’s.

Bax stumbled backwards. There was no way! It was Teras, Eve, and Rivel, without a doubt. He thought that these three were dead! That was what Sephiroth X had told him, right? That he saw Revan slay them after they failed to capture him? So what were they doing here—alive?

“Ancients, no,” Bax murmured.
“Wait…do you know those three?” Mai asked, quickly.
“Yes,” Bax said. “I fought them several months ago. They are three priests of the Holy Order of the Magi. But I thought they were dead!”
Mai cursed. “Magi? I thought we left Midgar to avoid getting killed! Careful, everyone! They’re Magi!”

Bax willed himself to stand and waited at the front of the group. His mind raced. What did they want? Why were they here? How were they still alive? And how could they get out of this situation? What would happen if they had to fight? Bax would be useless!

As his mind raced, the three Magi drew closer and finally reached them. They stood about ten feet away and observed them with stoic faces.
“It has been a long time, Bax Firago,” Rivel said at last.
“Not long enough,” Bax came back. “I thought that you were dead.”
“We were,” Eve responded. “But the Order thought to bring us back for a number of reasons.”
“One of them,” Teras responded in his deep voice, “was to finish our last mission of apprehending you.”
Bax’s face fell. Why did the Order still want him? Hadn’t they given him enough trouble? He had tried to evade them for so long! Why hadn’t it worked?
“So we’re going to ask you to come along with us without causing too much of a ruckus. We don’t want to have to maim you,” Rivel said.
Bax sneered. He knew that was a lie. Rivel was a horrific sadist like every other priest of the Holy Order that he had met. “As with our first encounter, I do not wish to return to Zion.”

Julian bit his lip and finally spoke up. “Look, I don’t know what your biz is with Bax, but it’s his decision. Let us go.”
Teras looked at Eve, who nodded. Teras disappeared from view, and then suddenly reappeared behind Julian with a long katana across his throat. A look of intense fear spread across the young boy’s face. Everyone else wheeled around to face him and trained their weapons on Teras, even though Julian was in the way of any clear shots.
“You are a foolish boy with a quick tongue. Keep your mouth shut and you might keep it.”
Bax reached his hand out towards Julian, “Stop!” Since when had Teras gained a katana? Hadn’t he fought with those claws before? They resembled Sephiroth X more and more every moment…

The Order had gone to low tactics again. Using hostages. Damn dirty dogs…
“So, Bax,” Eve said. “Come with us, or else we’ll have to kill your new traveling companions.”
Bax glared at her. “You wicked woman. Leave them out of this. They have nothing to do with any of this!”
“Wicked?” Eve said, with an expression of feigned surprise and hurt creeping across her face. “I prefer frugal.”
Owen seethed, “Enough bullshit! We’re not your pawns!”
“Owen, don’t!” Mai screamed.

But it was too late. Owen spun around and aimed his gun at Eve. He pulled the trigger and unleashed a stream of bullets in her direction. She stepped to the side and avoided the attack. She reached to her right hip and pulled out her spike-chain weapon. Bax noticed a katana on her left hip as well.
“Look out, Owen!” he screamed.
Eve unraveled her weapon and sent it flying at Owen. She twirled it around a few times and it wrapped around the gun, crushing the barrel in its links. The spike kept going, spinning around the gun before lurching forward and stabbing into Owen’s chest. He screamed in pain.
“Shit!” Joe screamed. “You bitch!”
Joe shot a blast at Eve with his shotgun. The winds kicked up as Eve waved her hand, and the blast bypassed her. Rivel launched into action, whipping his katana out of his sheath and charging at Joe. Joe got off another round and shot it at Rivel, who simply dodged to the side at an imperceptible pace, and raised his sword, running it right through his chest. He lifted Joe up off the ground with his momentum, and cast him to the side.

“Stop!” Bax screamed again. He lifted the Valermos towards Eve and the blade glowed orange. “All of you, stop!”
Teras grinned, “What, you don’t want to fight this time?”
Bax’s face took on a new darkness. “I never wanted to. You all forced me to. And I won’t let you harm these people!”
Ricky, Mai, and Raia stood there with looks of panic in their faces as they had their weapons trained on the Magi. Julian had tears rolling down his face and he seemed to be murmuring prayers. Eve wrenched her weapon out of Owen, who fell to the ground. She coiled her weapon back up with a flick and drew her katana out with her other hand to focus on Bax. Joe lay on the desert floor, twitching. Bax looked at all of them with sorrow as he kept his sword pointed at Eve. Even if he couldn’t fight, he had to be able to stop any further bloodshed.

“I am sorry,” he said. “All I seem to bring to the people around me is pain and trouble. Forgive me for getting you involved in this.”
Rivel turned to Bax. “My, have you gone soft, Bax? I expected more from you.”
“Shut up, you bastard.” Bax’s eyes flared a deeper red and he glared at Rivel, raising the Diroxauralis in his direction. “I will kill you if I have to. Teras,” Bax redirected his attention, “let go of Julian.”
Teras waited for a moment, and then looked at Eve and Rivel. “I suppose I can do that. This boy isn’t going to cause any trouble…are you, boy?”
Julian whimpered and shook his head no. Teras withdrew his katana and tossed the boy to the ground. Mai dropped her weapon and ran to him, embracing him and comforting him as he sobbed. Raia looked at Ricky and nodded her head. They lowered their weapons.

“Very good,” Rivel said. “They respond to our needs before we even ask. You could stand to take notes, Bax.”
Bax sighed. “I am sorry,” he repeated.
Raia shook her head, “Don’t apologize, Bax. You helped get us out of Midgar. You helped us enough.” Ricky nodded, agreeing.

Eve took a step towards Bax. “Well, they dropped their weapons. Are you going to do the same thing and come with us? Or are we going to have to kill them before you get the idea?”
The Valermos and Diroxauralis trembled in Bax’s weakened hands. He didn’t want to risk their lives…he knew he would be unable to fight these three Magi in his condition. And they were so malicious that they would probably kill all six of these people out of spite because he attacked back. He couldn’t risk it…he had no choice…

The glow disappeared from the Valermos and Bax lowered his swords.
“Fine. Just…please…let them go. Don’t hurt them any more than you already have.”
He sheathed his swords and closed his eyes.
“I’ll come with you.”

Teras walked up to Bax and sheathed his sword. He stood even taller than Bax at about 6’ 7”…which was menacingly tall. He looked him the eyes and smirked a little. “Good choice, Bax.”
He made a fist and savagely punched Bax in the side of the head, knocking him out cold. He slung him over his shoulder and looked at the four still-conscious and mostly unharmed Midgarians. Raia had gone to help Joe and Ricky had gone to help Owen, and they were tending to their wounds. They all looked up at the menacing giant who now had Bax over his shoulder, their faces writhing with a mix of fear and contempt.
“Let this be a lesson. Do not oppose the will of the Holy Order of the Magi.”

Rivel and Eve also sheathed their weapons and the three priests began to walk away from the scene with Bax in tow. At long last, they had succeeded in their mission of apprehending the alien king. Their next stop—the new headquarters of the Holy Order of the Magi...

[ZaCloud]

Zack wandered around the huge camp to get his mind off of the unsettling possibilities of the previous conversation. He was extremely worried about everyone he knew, and this latest twist did little to console him. He had stretched his neck out way too far in terms of emotional involvement lately, at least according to his self-preservation adaptation, so he now pulled deeply back into the shell painted with a smiley-face, waving cheerfully at those going about their business. They once in a while tentatively waved back, but mostly looked upon him with suspicion or slight contempt.

After a while, he leaned against a store’s awning post and folded his arms behind his head, sighing. “Man, tough audience. Ahh well, such is Strife life.”

“It’s not that,” a female voice interjected from his right, “It’s your uniform.”

Zack blinked and looked toward the speaker. A young woman, early 20s, stood casually on the porch, arms folded nonchalantly behind her back. She was clad in a simple black tanktop and jeans, with brown hair in a high short ponytail and eyes matching in hue.

The Strife boy cocked his head a bit, then looked down at his state of dress. He had never thought too hard about that before; it was instinctive to retrieve whatever was handy at the time as a drifter; beggars couldn’t be choosers. He also knew he came from Zion somehow or other, so possessing such things would be expected. But then he realized how much he himself felt hatred for the empire, so why indeed would he go around wearing such things?

He felt embarrassed at the realization and scratched the back of his head, scrambling for what words of justification he could find. “Well, uh, ya see… Zion sucks, but I came from there so that’s sorta what I had… Plus it works as armor pretty good… But I see whatcha mean. You mean these folks don’t mind Strifes? That’s really different. Do ya—“

“Hey hey! One thing at a time, bed-head!” the woman interrupted with waving of her hands, smiling slightly. “Yeah, as drifters we still know better than to waste what we find; we have some Zion armor among ourselves too. But we at least cross out their insignia so there’s no confusion of loyalty. Guess you’d need a good forge for that though; the metal they use takes more than just a sword-slice to do the job. We’ve got the means here, but it isn’t free.”

Zack nodded, then was quick to point out, “Well, I’ve got money, but I’m savin’ it for a friend, so I don’t wanna waste it on somethin’ that just stirs some opinions. Er, not really waste but… You know what I mean!” He waved his hands, eyes wide.

The young woman chuckled and waved dismissively, “Oh settle down, no need to spazz out. Strifes always do seem to blubber and excuse, but you seem a lot more happy than most. Guess I’ve heard that some folks are strict with ‘em. But don’t worry, around here as far as I know, we treat everyone equally who’s on our side.”

Zack looked quite surprised, then gave a very small, shy-looking smile. “That’s really nice… Wow…”

She cocked her head. “Is it normally that bad? And hey, are you really a Strife? I thought they were dark-colored.”

The teen thought a bit, though not too deeply. “Well, uh, I dunno, it’s just the way things are. And yeah, I heard that too about me lookin’ different, I dunno much about it though. Just makes me sunburn a lot if I’m not careful.” He chuckled with a wink, even while briefly wondering, How did I not burn all the time before, anyway…?

Meanwhile, the woman pursed her face a bit with a cocked brow and head, wondering at his outgoing attitude yet lack of forthcoming answers to simple questions.

Zack spazzed again at her expression, waving around. “Aah! Uh, sorry uh, do you know what I can do about my stuff so maybe I don’t look like a Senate fan? If you think that’d help? Maybe I can trade stuff or somethin’, cuz I’m not a bum or anything!”

She couldn’t help but crack a small smile again and shake her head. “You’re a weird kid. But yeah, we could consider trading I guess. In fact maybe this is the best chance to get rid of something I’ve had around for a while. Come on, my tent’s not far from here.” She started walking with a somewhat brisk but still feminine pace.

Zack looked after her for a moment, then jogged to catch up. He kept alert, making sure he knew which way to go if she were to try anything underhanded… Gah, since when am I so paranoid?

She stopped soon in front of a tent two rows back from the main footpath. A typical tan and patched cube, tall enough to stand comfortably in. She gestured at the ground in front of it. “Wait out here, I’ll get some stuff.” He nodded and stood where indicated, as she went inside. He could hear some clattering and shuffling. He scratched his head, then crossed his arms and began to whistle random tunes, looking around the area.

Soon, she emerged, with a sack that clanked while she walked. “I’ve got some stuff here I’ve been hoping to trade for, so say if any of it looks interesting.” She sat down cross-legged on the trampled earth and poured out a few objects. A lighter, an automatic pistol clip with only one bullet missing, four AA batteries, various belts and sheathes, and a compact shoulder guard.

Zack sat as well and looked these things over. The batteries and clip, certainly no use for. The lighter, possibly, though with Bax around fire was always handy.

Bax… He frowned distantly for a moment. He worried about him deeply…

But there was not yet anything he could do about him or Jack… It was painful, the ineffectiveness, the distance… He forced the thoughts out, and pulled the lighter forward to consider trading for, then focused on the shoulder guard. It was either made of darker metal or coated in textured black. It seemed very durable though. Most noteworthy, however, was the metal wolf-head on the inner corner. It held a ring in its mouth, like a knocker.

Zack found it fascinating. “This looks cool. What’s with the wolf?”

“That’s why I figured you’d be interested. It’s the Strife family crest, at least it was a long time ago. I don’t know too much about all that, but I guess they were close-knit, like a wolf pack.” She then cocked her head and inquired, “How come you don’t know much about your own race?”

The teen looked up at her, his eyes glazed for a bit, then he shrugged. “I was out on my own growin’ up, nobody told me much about it, so I only know what I hear now an’ then.” He then grinned and held up the shoulder pad. “I think this is really cool. Can I trade it for the one I’ve got on?”

She smiled slightly and nodded. “Sure.”

He then sifted around through the straps. “I’ll try some o’ these on too, see if any of ‘em can hold my sword.” He removed both Busters, laying them on the ground, where the woman eyed them with surprise.

“Those things are huge,” she observed, “Why the heck do you have two of them?”

He paused in his removal of the late Azriel’s cape. “Uhhh… Well… the old one has sentimental value. The new one is a gift an’ really functional. So… I can’t really give up either.” He pulled off the crimson cape and set it aside with the swords.

The woman’s eyes widened when she noticed his arms, covered in scars. “Oh my gosh…”

“Hm? What?” he asked cluelessly as he started unstrapping his armor segments.

She hesitated, then shook her head. “N-nothing, never mind.”

Unruffled, he unclipped his suspenders and armored belt as well, and began strapping on the alternatives. He found that his new sword Fenrir fit perfectly into the hip sheathe. “Wow, this is easier to carry like this.” He tested out the action of drawing it. “Smooth. I like it.” He struck what he imagined to be a badass pose, leaning a bit to the side and crossing his arms with a smirk. “So, how do I look?”

The woman, deep in a few thoughts, tapped her chin. “Missing something… Be right back.” A bit more digging in her tent, and she soon emerged with some black cloth and a can of black Spray-On Enforcer. “I’ve always wanted to invent new fashions. Care to be my test subject?”

He smirked. “Ooooh, that sounds—“ He saw her begin to narrow her eyes and promptly halted the sentence, raising his hands defensively. “Ok, sorry, I’ll be the dummy.”

She took her turn to smirk. “Yes, you do that.”

******************

The woman stepped back with a critical eye, yet looking mostly satisfied as she looked over Zack. The Strife now sported sleeker black gloves, a series of belts for the hip sheathe connecting to the wolf shoulder pad, and a half-cape over his left hip. His sleeveless turtleneck was now also black, and more durable with the flexible protective coating she had added. While the ensemble may not have all been entirely functional, it looked sleek and stylish, at least in her eyes. She held up a small cracked mirror so Zack could decide for himself. “Well?”

He cocked his head different ways a few times, looking up and down, then trying various poses with a serious expression. Then he grinned widely. “Wow, I really like it! It looks great!”

She smiled, glad he was as happy with the look as she was. Then she looked a bit thoughtful again, declaring, “One more thing though… You look way too uptight covering up your whole neck. Loosen up a little.” She stepped forward and began unzipping the ridged turtleneck he wore. He froze, blushing slightly and turning his head a bit aside.

As she had worked near his exposed arms, the woman had felt suspicion over some of the scars she saw. Sure, the kid looked rough-and-tumble, but some of them did not look like battle scars. They looked deep. Deliberate. She had to see more of the extent of the damage.

Small nicks at his throat. Gouges over the clavicle. Then more of those round burns on the chest…

“Uhh… That’s good enough, yeah?” Zack was smiling, though uncomfortably.

Realizing what this must have looked like, the woman’s eyes widened and she re-zipped it up to just a little below the collarbone before quickly stepping back. But then, she decided not to be so pussy-footed about her curiosities, otherwise he really would have reason to question her integrity. It was in her nature to be straightforward, after all, and she would always prefer the same would go for everyone.

She looked him straight in the eyes, dead serious. “What on earth happened to you?”

He blinked, cocking his head, and once more pasting on a smirk. “Well, a hot chick started undressing me just now—“

“Stop that, you’re forcing that.”

Zack blinked with surprise. He wasn’t deliberately trying to force anything… And yet, it felt like she was right. He scratched his head, looking down and aside, confused.

She sighed and crossed her arms, though softening her stance by leaning on one leg while bending the other slightly. “So many people wear masks nowadays, it’s ridiculous. It’s like people forget how to be themselves. So I trade with folks sometimes, not just objects, but words. All this tailoring… All I want in return for it, aside from the old armor pieces, is to hear a little about you. You’re trying to act like a lady’s-man, or a little boy, but you look like you’ve been through a shredder. So, what happened, and who are you really?”

Zack stood still, eyes distant, past the distant ground they were cast toward. Then after a few seconds, he looked at her and began to rattle off his default summary with a slight smile. “I’m a Strife, a drifter, lived out in the Desert of the Dead my whole life, by myself. Avoided lotsa folks cuz they don’t really like Strifes. Then I met some people I made friends with in Midgar, and became a mercenary. And we’ve run into some pretty bad folks but have managed to beat ‘em back…” His face fell a bit. “Until Valtiel, that is… An’ now stuff’s confusing and looks bleak… but we’re doin’ our best to have another go at it an’ fix things back up!” He smiled a bit again, nodding and hopeful.

“…I believe the second half…” the woman said reflectively, “But a whole childhood is a long time for so few words. And nobody could be alone out there and survive long. Plus you just don’t look the type. You look like a lost puppy who always has to be with someone. And don’t pretend you don’t know your own skin; you’re too young to look like that and not be affected.”

As she spoke, Zack was standing squarely, arms to his sides, looking at the ground. Slowly, his hands closed into loose fists. “I can’t talk about it,” he said quietly, his tone uneven but low and quiet, hair hiding his eyes. “Not right now. First we have to stop Valtiel. I can’t if I… if I don’t stay like this. Just for a while longer.”

The woman blinked, her breath catching. She had grown quite good at separating sincerity and its opposite. This was truly sincere. A true glimpse, in words that this boy would most likely forget he had spoken in another moment. She had seen a combat veteran, a known repressive, behave just like this when his mental wall had been touched.

And as the boy said now, it would not be practical for him to tear that wall down yet. Whether he was doing so selfishly to avoid the pain, or selflessly to remain effective in helping his friends… She could not yet know.

She sighed and shrugged. “Alright. Sorry. I guess we’ll have to run into each other again in the future. Then you can pay me back for the new duds.”

Zack raised his heads, eyes glinting mischievously. “Would a kiss work?”

She blinked again at the sudden change, then rolled her eyes. “No, because then I’d owe you a thrashing.”

The teen smiled more sincerely then, and promised, “Alright then, we’ll talk more someday. By the way, all this time an’ I don’t know your name.”

“…Duprae. Sydney Duprae.”

“Sydney Duprae. Nice name.” He smiled warmly for a moment. Then the glint returned and he winked. “Later babe!” He quickly had to turn tail while shielding his head from the hail of kindling twigs being thrown at him.

“Talking to girls like that doesn’t work!!” she shouted as she flung the sticks until he was out of sight. Then she crossed her arms and sighed, shaking her head. “Man, what a weird kid. But… weird is interesting. Someday, I’ve got to know!"

[The Waffle King]

Hodia treaded through the streets of Midgar--now overcast by a thick mist. Remnants of Valtiel's grip on the city. Hodia smiled at Valtiel's handiwork. She had no idea that Apocalypse would choose a host with this kind of power at its disposal, but it was magnificent. It felt like...like when the original Apocalypse had come to Auralis years ago. At least, what Hodia had read in all those old tomes. And now she was here, in the presence of greatness. She shivered with excitement. It was almost too mind-numbing for her to handle.

She stopped and looked into the cracked window of a shop. Inside, one of the pitiful transformed creatures roamed about, slumping against shelves and heaving about. Hodia smirked a little. Though she didn't fully understand this transformation, she was still amazed by its thoroughness at enslaving the mind and body. The Children of the Shadows could learn a great deal from this Valtiel's powers.

"I wonder," she whispered aloud to herself. "Once we have enslaved this planet, will Apocalypse wish to return to Auralis to finish the job there?"

Hodia smiled. It was all too good to be true. She felt honored to have been chosen for this great task. And the only thing...She felt a small shred of regret for Bax. Had things turned out differently...he would have remained a great ally. If only he didn't have his stupid strong sense of royalty, he might have actually made something of himself...she wished that she hadn't had to dispatch of him. But there was nothing that could be done. She had to move on, just as she had been trained to do.

Hodia snapped out of her reverie and kept walking down the street to get a better sense of her surroundings. She had to be close to the hospital. She turned a corner and passed by one of the small winged creatures hovering over a trash can. She looked at it and it flew away. Sure enough, these things had learned quickly what they should and shouldn't mess with.

Valtiel strolled out of an alleyway with a somewhat upbeat step and spotted Hodia. "There you are, I have some exciting news. We have a new guest!" Catrina shuffled out of the alley, eyes downcast and tense. Valtiel motioned toward her. "She's agreed to help us find a certain someone."

Hodia smirked and walked over towards Catrina. With narrowed eyes, she walked around her, encircling her as she scanned her up and down. At the last, she stopped at her side and lowered her head a little to gaze into the side of Catrina's face. "No need to be scared. Welcome," Hodia said at last, her voice oozing with some slight warmth laced with cyanide. "I'm glad that you've come to help us. What is your name?"

She could see through the falsities and furrowed her brow. Anyone associated with Valtiel couldn't be trusted. "It's Catrina, not that it would matter to you. I agreed to cooperate with him, not you." Hodia's gaze narrowed a little more. "Hodia. And it matters a little. I don't typically like hurting people whose names I don't know. I'm not completely against it, but formalities help me a little." Hodia turned away and paced away from Valtiel and Catrina. "A feisty one to be sure. I don't mind, though. Who are we looking for, master?"

He pulled along Catrina as he resumed the trek to the hospital. "There's a silver haired fly floating around somewhere, and he has something I...I mean 'we' want. The element of prosperity. I've seen its power for myself, and it would make crushing this planet less than a chore. His name is Sephiroth X and he needs to die." Catrina clenched her fists at the words.

"Sephiroth X, hmm? Funny name," Hodia mused. She glanced back at Catrina and flashed a smile. "A friend of yours, I presume. Don't worry, I'm sure that Master Valtiel will make his death a little bit easier since you're cooperating with us. Maybe."

Valtiel let loose a hearty laugh. "That couldn't be further from the truth. That man and his friends have pestered me for far too long. I plan on putting him through hell bad back once more...well, maybe not back." He pulled Catrina further up as a small gang of creatures were following behind them as they approached the doors of the hospital.

The inside of the building was bare and completely vacant. He spun around with arms out. "And this is our epicenter and home. This place is used to heal the wounded and sick, and now it's used to cure the greatest disease of all. Ironic, no?" The doors of an elevator opened on their own upon approach. They all filed in and descended to the basement.

Hodia once again felt some slight deja vu as she entered this area. The way that Valtiel was descending into his lair seemed remarkably similar to the methods of the Children of the Shadows. Could this just be Apocalypse's influence? Hodia gazed with confidence at Valtiel. Yes, Necrostiana had chosen well.

The doors slid open to the near pitch black corridor. The occasional flickering light and Hodia's glow just enough to see. He grabbed Catrina's upper arm and pulled her along at a quicker pace, heading toward a set of large swinging doors at the far end of the hall. This area seemed to be somewhat more 'influenced' than the rest of the building. Stale air, walls somewhat mal-kept, and a generally heavier feeling. Moving shadows could bee seen through dirty windows in the other darkened rooms. As they approached the twin doors, the light above it flickered on, illuminating a sign. Morgue.

"I might just be impatient, but let's speed up this 'cooperation' process along, shall we?" He pushed Catrina rather harshly toward the operating table. It almost immediately started to rust and grow. A look of shock shot across Catrina's face as long limbs started wrapping around her, pulling her down to the table and locking her in. More and more coiled around her until she was nearly encased in a cocoon of impossibly long arms. The 'contamination' started to slowly creep across the floor, threatening to overtake the whole room. He turned to Hodia. "I've never been a fan of questions." Catrina's struggling slowed as she slipped into a deep sleep. "This is far more effective."

Hodia smiled a little. "I won't question your methods. I agree--interrogation has never been something I ever favored." Hodia turned to Catrina. "I would give it up if I were you. Though I'd like to see what might happen to you, I'm sure that you would prefer an easier option."

"Hah, I never said it was going to be easy. Just more reliable....and fun...for me at least." He walked out the door and headed back to the elevator. "Here, I'll show you." They ascended again to the less stifling first floor. Walking just across the hall, they entered the doctor's lounge. Valtiel motioned toward one of the couches. "Have a seat, enjoy the show." The TV buzzed to life and blasted static for a few moments before a picture started bleeding through, Catrina stumbling through a much danker hospital. "As long as she's in there, I can sift through her mind until I find what I need. Quite convenient."

"Fascinating," Hodia whispered. She watched Catrina for a moment as she lumbered about. Hodia almost wished that she had such powers. Still, her own unique gifts were quite helpful in their own way. And she couldn't wait to use them for this new master. "And what will you have me do once we have the necessary information, my Master?"

Valtiel put a hand to his chin. "It all depends on what information I can drain out of our special guest. But I suppose once I know what I need to know, we'll want to prepare for their arrival, since I have no doubt that they will try and regain their city."

Hodia smiled. "No doubt they'll come back. I look forward to meeting them...and making them regret ever opposing you."

[Sephiroth X]

*X’s body fell backwards as he passed out and just as his head hit the ground his mind snapped back to consciousness. His eyes remained closed yet he could sense something different about the area around him.

Sephiroth X – Where…. Where am I?

*Seph opened his eyes slowly and saw a vast horizon of lights and skyscrapers in every direction. He was perched atop the roof of a skyscraper within the Super City, Masamune in hand.

Sephiroth X – The Super City…? How did I get here?

*X’s eyes panned around again, the sky was as black as night indicating it was well past sunset here.

Sephiroth X – It was only afternoon when I was in Libertas… meaning it was nighttime on this half of the world. But that can’t be right… there’s no way I could travel fast enough for it to still be nighttime here… unless…

*X clenched one of his fists for a moment, he felt different.

Did I do it… did I unlock whatever power I had?

*He truly did feel different… changed slightly. Seph sheathed the Masamune and pulled off one of his gloves and found something he didn’t expect. His skin was pale and cold to the touch, the cuticles and edges of his fingernails were as black as his clothing.

Sephiroth X – Hmm….

*X figured it was a potential side effect of whatever change he might have just put himself through but he truthfully didn’t care much at the moment. Seph stood and looked over the ledge towards the street far below as his adrenaline slowly began to run through him. He physically felt rejuvenated, stronger, better, and it felt good. Seph leapt off the edge of the building and let himself free fall for a few hundred feet. Reaching to his side, X unsheathed the Masamune and promptly jabbed it into the side of a building stopping him midway through his fall. Sephiroth X used the window of a building as a mirror and saw one more distinct change in his appearance… his eyes. X’s eyes still had their familiar green hue to them, however now they also had a thick black trimming around them similar to what was on his fingernails as well.

Sephiroth X – Interesting…

*Seph removed the Masamune from the building and kicked off the side of the building. X flipped a few times mid air before taking flight and zipping between skyscrapers. The initial force of Seph activating his own powers surprised even he, there was an extra burst of energy with his flight and it seemed like every turn he made was more sharp.

Sephiroth X – This is good… this feels great!

*A tingling sensation ran through Seph’s body for a few moments and then something prompted his sixth sense to activate itself. X sensed some kind of energy in the distance as he hovered in place. It was an odd energy he was feeling, powerful yet unique enough that Seph immediately knew it was nothing he had encountered in the past. X for some reason wanted to explore this force he was sensing, it was calling to him, pulling him closer, begging to be found. Seph followed this odd instinct and flew towards the source of the power gaining altitude hoping to pinpoint its origin. The source was within the Super City which Seph found relatively surprising he didn’t sense it the first time he was in the city, X contemplated if his sixth sense was sharpened with this new power as well. After a few more moments of investigating, X’s sixth sense pinpointed the source of the power. The source was somewhere below the Super City, possibly a few hundred feet below the surface even.

Sephiroth X – Well… only one way to find out…

*X shot down towards the center of the power, something compelled him to discover its source no matter what. As he flew closer to the street below he lowered one of his shoulders and braced for impact. X then slammed through the concrete sidewalk and continued to drive further through dirt and concrete. Seph flew through a few deep underground caverns before slamming through one thick layer of earth which ultimately stopped X’s momentum as it gave way. Seph dusted himself off and stood back up as he looked around the cavern. Odd crystalline rocks along the walls of the cavern illuminated creating a purple hue within the cavern. Immediately he knew this cavern was the source of the power he felt, yet there was something odd about this cavern, it was not a natural cavern but apparently man made. The air was stale in the cavern and as Seph took a few steps forward he saw something that confirmed a theory he had, the remnants of a human skeleton.

Sephiroth X – This cavern was sealed off from the inside… This guy musta been the unlucky one to stay behind.

*A spike in energy caught X’s attention and caused him to promptly turn towards the source of the power. One area of the cavern grew brighter as X looked over to it and revealed what laid there, there was a stone display set up with a single item sticking out from the stone; a katana with an elaborate hilt and a blade that looked as new as a freshly forged sword. Seph could sense dark power radiating from this katana, as he stepped closer to it dark energy almost spoke out to him.

Yamato…

Sephiroth X – Yamato… the blade of the dark warrior Locke spoke of… it does exist…

*X felt compelled to step closer to the sword, just like he was compelled to find the source of the power.

Sephiroth X – My ability to sense Yamato had to have been triggered by awakening whatever power was within the Element, or perhaps what he awakened was simply the ability to find Yamato and thus unlock the deeper powers of the Element. Yeah… yeah! That has to be what is happening!

*Seph began to ignore the things Zack and Locke warned him about, the dark energy, the evil of that past Warrior… all he was focused on now was power… he was so close to more of it. As X stepped up to Yamato he felt the Masamune react oddly to the presence of this sword, the Masamune shook within X’s hand like it was being repelled or resisting Yamato. After a few moments the Masamune changed and seemed to give way to the resistance it was experiencing. Slowly the Masamune rose up towards Yamato and just before the two blades touched a bolt of purple lightning shot from Yamato through the Masamune towards Seph. Dark lightning ran over X’s body as he went down to one knee while trying to control the surge of new power. His mako green eyes grew brighter as the black trimming around his eyes began to expand out into the white of his eyes, the dark lightning began to vanish into Seph’s body and in a few moments everything came to a calm. X continued to kneel in place taking a few controlled breaths while trying to regain his composure. Seph’s grip on the Masamune tightened and in the blink of an eye he shot straight upwards like a flash of lightning, shattering through ground and pavement. The street above exploded as X shot upwards into the sky, enjoying an even higher level of satisfaction with this even more poignant power that Yamato gave him.

*X wanted to test his limits immediately and began to summon more of his power. Just as he was preparing to increase his flight speed something gave way within Seph, suddenly he lost all control over himself and began to freefall down towards the Super City again. The sudden loss of power caused X to pass out similar to how he did back in Libertas and his body continued to fall. Just before his body could slam into the roof of one of the Super City skyscrapers Sephiroth X’s eyes shot back open and he gasped for air to breathe. Seph looked around and saw that he was back within his meditation tent in Libertas, back in his kneeling position almost like he never left.

Sephiroth X – Was this… a dream?

*X quickly pulled off one of his gloves and saw that his skin was still pale and there was black trim around his fingernails. As he continued to stare at his hand he could sense his body begin to relax, and as he relaxed his skin complexion returned a little closer to its normal tone and the black around his nails faded. Seph quickly stood up and walked outside of his tent. He looked up towards the sky, it hadn’t changed much at all form when he first entered the tent. But his skin, the power he attained, it all was real… it happened… and somehow he was able to travel halfway around the world and back in almost no time.

*Seph had a feeling he was going to enjoy what he had discovered.

[Shadow Phoenix]

Bax groggily opened his eyes and saw the desert sands bouncing before him. It was dark, but Bax could see hints of glimmering light beginning to make the sky above glow. Had they been traveling all night? Or had they just gotten an early start in their journey? Bax realized that he was still slung over Teras’s shoulder, and his previously splitting headache was now absolutely miserable. Did Teras have to knock him out like that? Was that really necessary?

He decided to keep quiet avoid getting knocked out again. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to be able to hide his consciousness from these three.

“Welcome back, Bax,” Rivel said. Rivel was walking in front of Teras. How did he even know that Bax was awake? To Bax’s knowledge, he hadn’t made any sounds upon rousing. Could he simply tell? Could he simply feel his consciousness?

“Did you have to knock me out like that?” Bax asked.
“Just a precaution,” Teras said. “You’re dangerous. We couldn’t afford to let you recover your power while we transported you.”
Just then, Bax noticed something around his wrist. It was a metallic ring with a small red crystal embedded in it. There was a black impurity sitting in the center of the crystal. What was this thing? Bax felt as weak or weaker than he did before, and it wasn’t just because Teras had knocked him out. This thing was…sealing his energy!
“What did you do to me?!”
Rivel smiled, “That is called anti-materia. And as you have probably guessed, it is sealing your abilities. This anti-materia is related to materia on this planet which grants its users control over fire. In fact, I have used the fire materia myself.”

Materia? For some reason, that sounded familiar to Bax. Hadn’t Zack said something about those at some point? Rivel seemed to read his mind, and continued to ramble as he was wont to do.

“Materia is a fairly rare ore here on Earth, but those who have found it and refined its power have gained vast destructive abilities. From what I recall, your friend Zack possesses several materia and has used their power on a few occasions. But I do not think that he has mastered them quite the way that we Magi have.”

That irritated Bax a little. These Magi, Rivel in particular, were so haughty.

“I have been researching a way to seal these powers for quite some time, but I have not been able to see how well they work until now. I theorized that attaching some anti-materia to a person with natural abilities would seal those abilities. I have tried it on a few low-level creatures, but you are the first being of any significant ability. How do you feel?”

Bax felt sick. “Horrible.”
“Perfect, then. It works! Another successful experiment.”
Bax sneered, “Congratulations.”

“You’re probably wondering how to get it off, aren’t you? Well, I won’t tell you that much. But I do promise that I will remove it once you agree to work for us. But until then…why, you’ll probably be about as strong as an average human without all of that fire fueling you!”

Bax shut his eyes and cursed. He hadn’t expected this at all. Now even if he wanted to run, he probably wouldn’t be able to do much. His body had been sealed to the point where it was probably taking all of his natural fire just to keep him alive. He would probably have to rely solely on his swordsmanship to fight until he could figure out how to get out of this and get this damned anti-materia off! Would he even be able to use his swords without his natural abilities?

Speaking of his swords, they were currently not on his back. Obviously, the priests had taken them in case he tried to grab one when he woke up. They had thought this through, hadn’t they?

At the very least, Bax was confident that his “enhanced” senses had not been affected. From his experiences with humans, he knew that he had better vision and hearing than the average human, along with fairly developed intuition that some humans referred to as a rare “sixth” sense. And just because his overall energy was sealed, he had still trained his muscles to be able to handle a great deal. Surely that would not go away entirely.

And he had also trained his mind! Perhaps he still had some control over his telepathic and telekinetic abilities. They couldn’t seal those, could they? They were separate from the fire, right? Either way, Bax still had too much of a headache to even consider using his mental abilities.

After a few silent moments of thought, Bax spoke up again.
“So, now that you have finally caught me after all these months, where are you taking me? Zion?”
Teras made a noise that sounded like a low, ironic huff-laugh. “No, not Zion.”
“The Holy Order of the Magi is no longer affiliated with the scum of Zion or the damned Senate,” said Eve. “When they felt they no longer needed us, they…kicked us out.”
Bax had to suppress a laugh. Here they were, toting themselves as this all-powerful organization, and they had been kicked out? By their own allies, no less? It was a little rich, and Bax reveled in that knowledge. So they weren’t as perfect as they made themselves out to be.

“And yet, we have had no use for the Senate or Zion for quite some time either,” Eve continued, the malice in her voice giving way to matter-of-factness. “They were merely means to an end. And now that our ties have been severed, we can move on unencumbered. They will meet their miserable end in due time.”

Bax wondered exactly what the goals of the Holy Order were. If what Hodia said was true, then they also wanted to further the cause of the Apocalypse. But were they willing to work with Valtiel, or did they consider him an enemy as well? After all, according to that book Bax had found, the Holy Order had been the group that originally came in contact with Necrostiana when she landed on Earth hundreds of years ago. They probably still wanted Necrostiana—not Valtiel. This really could turn into an all-out war…and it seemed like there would be a lot more than two sides.

“And what do you want with me?” Bax asked.
Rivel smirked. “What did I tell you when we first met? You’re the answer to the prophecy. The Child of the Shadows. We want your power, and we’ll get it one way or another. We need Necrostiana’s power to control this planet, and the only way that we’ll be able to understand that power is by having you. I’ve seen what you can do. You and the new Warrior of Prosperity are the only ones who might be able to deal with Necrostiana and bring her under our power. We’d like to have both you and Sephiroth X on our side. But if we can’t have you, then we want your power. Imagine having a Warrior of Prosperity in the ranks of the Holy Order of the Magi along with an alien specimen of your caliber! We would be able to crush the Senate in a matter of minutes!”

Rivel was insane. He was off on a power trip. Bax didn’t even know how much of that was the Order and how much was Rivel’s own personal psychosis.

“You talk too much, Rivel,” Eve chided. “Haven’t you learned anything?”
Rivel chuckled. “He wanted to know. I’m just telling him! Laying out his options.”
Teras spoke again, very curtly this time. “Stop babbling then and get to the point.”
Rivel sneered, “Sorry, I’m just a little giddy about my experiment working and about us finally finishing our damned mission.”
Eve rolled her eyes, “We’re not done yet. We still have to get back to headquarters.”

Bax interjected, “Which is where exactly?”
Rivel whirled around and appeared before Bax this time. “That, you don’t need to know! We are simply no longer at Zion.” He had an irritated face. Bax was a little surprised at his response.
Teras chuckled again. “We have relocated to the desert. Is that sufficient?”
Bax nodded, “Thank you.” Much to his surprise, these Magi had the potential to be civil.
Rivel grinded his teeth together and glared at Bax for a moment before heading back up to join Eve, muttering something about boorish idiots. He and Eve argued through heated whispers for a moment, and then silence reigned once again. The only noticeable sound was the early morning wind sifting along the desert sands. Life out here was dim, and few creatures roamed these parts. Unless they ran into drifters, they probably wouldn’t see anyone or anything else until they got to the new headquarters, wherever those were.

The sun was starting to rise now. Bax took solace in the warmth that began to strike his face. Though he felt weak and a bit chilled, he could still enjoy a little bit of sunshine…

Even if circumstances were bleak…